But Set the Believers an Example: Love

“Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity.” (1 Timothy 4.12 ESV)

Love is a word we throw around quite often. We “love” our family and at the same time we “love” our favorite store or sports team (Go Cowboys!). Love in our culture today has many different meanings and uses. However, in the language of the New Testament specific words were used in reference to the type of love being talked about. This “love” in 1 Timothy is no exception. The original Greek word used here is the word “agape”. Now I’m no Greek scholar (or student yet for that matter) but if I had to give a definition for this word it would be a little something like this:

Love: wanting what is best for someone other than your self 

This to me appears to be the essence of “agape” love. And if this is the case, then it would appear that Timothy is to be an example in self-sacrifice. If “love” is wanting what is best for someone else than Timothy, at many times, is going to have to give up some of his liberties to show “love” to the rest of the church. It would only stand to reason then that this is how we show love to our brethren. We have to be willing to make sacrifices. 

What is a sacrifice? I would say that a sacrifice is something that is inconvenient for you. It could be inconvenient for you in the amount of time spent, or money spent. It could be inconvenient for you because it requires you to step out of your comfort zone. It might even be inconvenient for you because you have to roll up your sleeves and get to work! But, I believe that if you make some kind of a sacrifice then you’re showing love to the people around you. You’re showing love because you’re giving up a part of you (time, money, effort, etc.) in order to help someone else. This is what Timothy was charged to do! He was to “be an example in love” by being a person who is willing to be sacrificial of themselves. 

This week I want to challenge you to do just that. Be sacrificial of yourself. It doesn’t matter to me how you accomplish that. You may be really busy, but find some time to give up for the benefit of someone else. Maybe you’re really tired and have been working non-stop but someone needs help moving some furniture. Give up some of the time you would be using to sleep and go help them move. Do something for someone else, even if it requires the giving up of something that you wanted to do. This is only one way to “love” someone else, but in my opinion (and you may disagree) this is the best way. I hope you’ll show “love” to someone this week, even if it costs you! – Jack D.