You’re reading JESUS: LESSONS IN LOVE, by Eric Elder, featuring thirty inspiring devotionals based on the greatest “lover” of all time, Jesus Christ. Also available in paperback and eBook formats in our bookstore for a donation of any size!

Scripture Reading: Matthew 6

There are times when we need to show people that we love them.  It’s important that we let them know, in tangible ways, that we appreciate them, care for them, and are willing to do anything for them.

I remember talking to a husband who was about to get a divorce from his wife because she wanted them to move across the country, but he didn’t want to.  I asked him: “If someone were threatening your wife’s life, would you be willing to die for her?”  “Yes,” he answered, “I would.”  So I added, “If you’re willing to die for her, would you be willing to live for her?”  He recommitted his life to Christ and to his marriage and they were soon reconciled to each each other.

This kind of tangible expression of our love can make or break a relationship.

But there are other times when God calls us to do our acts of love in secret, in ways that only God Himself can see.  Jesus tells us the reason why in Matthew chapter 6:

“Be careful not to do your ‘acts of righteousness’ before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.  So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you” (Matthew 6:1-4).

This passage serves as a “heart-check” for me.  When I’m considering doing some “acts of righteousness,” or “acts of love,” I always want to check my motives.  Am I wanting to do these things out of an attempt to love others more?  Or out of an attempt to get others to love me more?  These are two very different things.

To reiterate this thought, Jesus gives us a second example that applies when we pray for others:

“And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you”  (Matthew 6:5-6).

As if to underscore it one more time, Jesus gives us a third example, too:

“When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show men they are fasting. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full.  But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that it will not be obvious to men that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you” (Matthew 6:16-18).

Each of these examples remind me that there are times when our giving, our praying, and our fasting are to be done in secret, with no thought of the fact that others may never know who gave to them, prayed for them, or fasted on behalf of them.  These are good reminders to me to check my heart even when I feel prompted to express my love in a more visible way.  I need to always be sure that my motivation is to truly show others how much I love them, rather than trying to get them to love me more.

God promises that He will not leave our good deeds unrewarded, but by promising to reward us Himself, it frees us from trying to get our rewards from those we’re trying to love.  It’s this kind of heart-check that will help us to truly love others more.

Prayer: Father, help me to keep my heart in check, so that I can truly express my love for others in ways that truly blesses their lives.  In Jesus’ name, Amen.