Let me tell you of One who became involved, One who didn't even consider how much His involvement would cost Him. Jesus paid the ultimate price for love. He went to the Cross and gave His life so that we could be saved. Jesus opened a new dimension of love, showing people that God is love.

One evening many years ago, just before Broadway star Mary Martin went on stage in South Pacific, she was handed a note. It was from Oscar Hammerstein, the famous lyricist. At this particular moment, he lay dying. The short note read:

A bell is not a bell 'til you ring it. A song is not a song 'til you sing it. Love in your heart is not put there to stay. Love is not love...'til you give it away.

That night after her performance, many friends rushed back-stage and exclaimed, "Oh, Mary? You did something to us tonight. What was it?"

Unfolding the note, Miss Martin read it to her friends. Blinking back tears, she said, "Tonight I gave my love away." Love is action. Love is giving of yourself without thinking how much it will cost you.

Loving Means Giving
Let me tell you of One who became involved, One who didn't even consider how much His involvement would cost Him. Jesus paid the ultimate price for love. He went to the Cross and gave His life so that we could be saved (John 3:16).

Jesus opened a new dimension of love, showing people that God is love. The Old Testament's Ten Commandments said, "Thou shalt not do this...thou shalt not do that...." But Jesus summed up all the Commandments in one: "Love one another as I have loved you" (John 15:12).

In the Old Testament, it was "an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth" (Ex. 21:23-24). But in the New Testament, Jesus taught that you're to love even your enemies...do good to those who despitefully use you...give, and it shall be given unto you, etc.

Giving in the Old Testament usually involved payment for a debt. For instance, the first-born son was to be dedicated to God; one-seventh of your time—or the Sabbath—belonged to God. Your giving was a debt you owed.

But when Christ went to the Cross, He paid that debt and opened up a whole new dimension of loving and giving—not as a debt we owe but as a seed we sow—and that makes all the difference.

Jesus taught us that we are to initiate the action. He said, "Give, and it shall be given unto you" (Luke 6:38). You give first; you love first. And through your giving, God can multiply what you give back to you in the form of your own need.

Giving Brings Reward
The story is told of two doctors from a major medical school who did a scientific study of a group of people who had performed acts of totally unselfish love.

In the study, one young woman with a severe hearing problem could immediately hear better after her act of love. An obese man who couldn't lose weight before was now able to lose weight rapidly. Person after person in the experiment noticed that they required less medicine when they gave of themselves.

In reporting the results of this scientific study of giving of one's self in love, the doctors said this: "We found that love, when acted upon, is the most positive experience of all."

I believe what they are saying, in essence, is what Jesus told us in the New Testament: When you give love, it shall be given to you again. God multiplies it back in the form of your own need.

Let God's Love In
I once knew a couple who claimed to have fallen out of love. The woman complained that her husband really didn't care for her as a person. He complained that she wasn't concerned about his personal needs.

During this trying time they didn't ask for God's help. They never tried giving to each other. And their home slowly disintegrated.

This couple crossed my path and poured out their troubles to me. I said, "Show me a marriage that's falling apart, and I'll show you two people who often are trying to get from each other instead of giving."

"I believe that if you start giving to each other, God can multiply it back to you. But I don't believe you can do that without knowing God's love."

"Surrender your lives to Christ," I told them. "Take Him into your hearts as your personal Savior. Follow Jesus, give as He gave, love as He loved, and I believe you'll find that God can heal your marriage and put your home back together."

As the weeks passed and they put Christ at the head of their home, they fell in love again. Then one day, seemingly, the bottom fell out. I received a letter from the husband that said, "Oral, you told me if I took Christ into my life, if I started loving and giving first, God could save my marriage. Read this and tell me what you think."

It was a letter from his wife. It read:

Dear One: All my life I've wanted a man I could love, someone I could look up to and respect. At last I've found him. I don't know what this will mean to you, but to me it means everything and I hope you'll be happy too.

"Oral, I didn't even know she was thinking of another man," he said. "We've been so happy. With Christ in our lives, our home has been put back together in love. I don't understand!"

"Why don't you pick up the phone and call her?" I suggested. "Ask her what she means." So he got her on the line and said, "I received your letter. Did you mean what you said?"

"Yes. I meant it," she said.

"You've found another man?"

"That's right."

"Where does that leave me?"

"I don't know; that's up to you."

"Do I know him? Who is he?" And very tenderly and lovingly she answered, "It's you, darling." This couple had opened up their lives to God's love, and it made all the difference.

Come Home to Love
One day I met a young soldier, and I offered him a ride in my car. As we talked, I learned that he had just been discharged from the Army. He was going home.

Soon we got near his place. "There it is!" the soldier said. Over by the barn there was a man with two feed buckets in his hands. "That's my dad!" he said.

And before I could bring the car to a complete stop, he jumped out, leaped over the fence, and ran toward his dad. Then suddenly, he stopped. His dad, obviously, didn't recognize him at first. They looked at each other.

For a moment, I saw a generation gap. The boy had gone off to the Army, partly because he wanted to get away from his dad. The dad was, no doubt, sorry the boy went into the Army, but secretly glad to get him out from under his feet.

But as they stood there, the generation gap seemed to disappear in love. The boy took a step forward. Suddenly the feed buckets dropped to the ground and the father held out his arms. I heard him say, "Welcome home, son!" As I drove away, I saw them walking arm in arm up to the old farmhouse. This young man had come back—not only to his home, but also back to love.

Friend, maybe you need to come back to love. Remember the love that God poured out for you on the cross, and purpose to reveal His love to others. Love is not passive; it's action. Love is the giving of yourself without thinking of how much it will cost you.

Oral Roberts Ministries.
All rights reserved. Used by permission.