Let All That You Do Be Done With Love

Let all that you do be done with love.
1 Corinthians 16:14 NKJV

This is the time of year when there’s a great deal of attention on grand occasions and big gestures. Christmas parades, Christmas pageants, Christmas parties—the world is all about high hopes and big expectations. This is the time of year when need is stirred up in everyone, and this need cannot be met by humanity (though we try and try and try). Yet in the midst of the holiday hustle and bustle, the small gestures carry great weight when it comes to the missive: “Let all that you do be done with love.”

Let ALL That You Do Be Done With Love

It’s easy to get caught up in the happy hurry going on right now, and I’m not talking about materialism or idolatry or any of the signature warnings. When we love someone, we want them to know it. We want them to know joy, and we want to be part of bringing them that joy. Parents and kids, husbands and wives, brothers and sisters, true friends—we’ve all felt the urge to go “BIG” for love, and Christmas is a great time for it. But there’s great power in the “small” acts of love that we shouldn’t overlook.

“Let ALL that you do be done with love.” That’s an impossibility apart from Jesus. But then, only Jesus knows how much significance the little things hold. There are some wonderful missions at Christmas time, like adopting needy families to provide presents and a tree or buying extra food for the homeless shelters. This is big love, but it’s not the only love if we are do be doing everything with love.

Let All That You Do Be Done WITH LOVE!

Are we paying for our presents with love for the sales clerks? Are we checking on the status of an order with love for the customer service representative? Are we paying for gas with love for the attendant? Are we paying for lunch at the drive-thru with love for the people reaching out the window to give us change? Do we spare a moment to look a passerby in the eyes and acknowledge their existence with love?

Every job I’ve ever had involved lots of contact with people. LOTS. And the memories that I cherish are all moments of heart-to-heart connection with people. Sometimes I was in need, and sometimes they were. But none of these memories are of the big, grand occasions. These were small moments of shared laughter or encouragement, a smile from an odd fellow in a corner cubicle when I felt very alone, even an unneeded escort of my groceries to my car. God’s love and mercy was in those moments, a trail of breadcrumbs that my rebellious, broken heart followed to His feet.

I talk to people every day who are looking for love. I take calls from people who have love to give me, too. I know, day in and day out, just how much love the Lord can pack into a small gesture or short exchange. And you likely do, too. So let’s remember together that when God tells us, “Let all that you do be done with love,” He alone can see just how far each seemingly insignificant event will reach.