Do you ever feel like the world is getting louder than ever?
If you do, you’re not alone. In today’s attention-driven economy, the loudest voices are the ones that get the highest attention. We’ve all heard that “attention is the new currency,” and whether it’s on traditional media channels like television and radio or the algorithm-driven platforms like social media and podcasting, everyone seems to have turned up the volume lately trying to get our attention.
Sadly, the loudest voices are usually full of anger, or hate, or judgment. Name-calling and targeted insults have been normalized. We all watch the news and scroll through our feeds being tempted to turn up the volume on our outrage, our desire to be right - or more often, our desire to prove others wrong.
But what if we chose a different kind of loud? In a world that is so divided and harsh, there's something beautifully subversive – even revolutionary – about choosing to love loudly. Not love for the sake of attention, but love that makes a real impact on people who desperately need to feel seen and heard… to know they matter.
This is the kind of love Jesus demonstrated. And it's the kind of love we're called to share.
The apostle John understood this deeply. As the last living disciple of Jesus, watching early churches struggle against false teachings and cultural pressures, John wrote his first letter with an ancient technique called "amplification" – repeating his message with growing intensity and increasing urgency because he knew how crucial it was to get his point across.
The word “love” appears 46 times in his short letter. And by the end, John is practically shouting: Just love.
The Nature of Jesus' Love
Jesus' love wasn't quiet. It was transformative, sacrificial, and impossible to ignore. When someone experienced Christ's love, their immediate response was often, "I don't deserve this!" That's because Jesus' love defies our human understanding of fairness and reciprocity.
His love endures when we're unlovable. It forgives when we've messed up beyond repair. It sacrifices when we have nothing to offer in return. It gives generously when we're spiritually bankrupt. This isn't the conditional love our world operates on – it's something entirely different, something that stops people in their tracks and changes everything.
John reminds us that "whoever loves the father loves his child as well." Love spreads naturally, filling spaces and growing exponentially. Like a parent discovering they have unlimited capacity to love each new child, God's love through us expands to embrace more and more people in our circles and communities.
“How does God’s love abide in anyone who has the world’s goods and sees a brother or sister in need and yet refuses help?” – 1 John 3:17
A Word of Caution
But here's the challenge: we live in a world full of modern idols promising us protection, security, and success. Politicians, products, and countless voices compete for our allegiance, claiming they can provide what only Jesus can truly give. John's final warning still echoes centuries later: "Keep yourselves from idols."
Only Jesus can save us, and only His love can truly transform both giver and receiver.
Three Ways to Love Like Jesus
Start with the Person Right in Front of You
Don't wait until you feel ready; you almost certainly never will. There is no “right” moment to love people. Jesus didn't love people from a distance – He engaged with people right where they were. The Samaritan woman at the well, the tax collector in the tree, the woman caught in adultery – each received His immediate, personal attention.
Look around your daily life. Who crosses your path regularly? The coworker struggling with anxiety, the neighbor going through a divorce, the teenager bagging your groceries who seems overwhelmed. Ask God to give you eyes to see these people as He sees them. Then take one small step to show Christ's love – a genuine compliment, an offer to help, a listening ear without judgment.
Ask God to Reveal Those Being Left Out
Jesus consistently sought out the marginalized, the forgotten, and the excluded. He noticed people others overlooked and loved those society had written off. This requires intentional seeking on our part.
Pray specifically: "God, who in my community is being abandoned or left out? Who needs to experience Your love through me?" Maybe it's the elderly person whose family rarely visits, the single parent struggling to make ends meet, or the international student feeling isolated. God will reveal people to you if you ask with a sincere heart. Then act on what He shows you – invite them for coffee, offer practical help, or simply spend time with them.
Love Without Keeping Score
Jesus' love doesn't operate on a merit system, and neither should ours. This means loving people who might not love you back, helping those who can't repay you, and forgiving those who haven't asked for forgiveness.
Practice giving without expectation. Send an encouraging text to someone going through a hard time. Pay for the coffee of the person behind you in line. Serve others in need by volunteering – the opportunities around us are abundant.
Forgive someone who hurt you, even if they haven't apologized. These acts of love mirror Christ's unconditional love for us and often create ripple effects far beyond what we can see.
The Urgency of Now
We don't know what tomorrow holds. Life is fragile, relationships are precious, and opportunities to love loudly won't last forever. As John wrote with increasing urgency, knowing he might be among the last to carry the message forward, we too should feel the weight of this moment.
The world doesn't need more data or talking points. It needs love – the transformative, sacrificial, impossible-to-ignore love of Jesus lived out. And that same love needs to be lived out through ordinary people like you and me.
So let's love loud. Not for the attention or recognition, but because someone desperately needs to experience God's love today. And you might be His chosen messenger.
Don't wait. Just love.
To listen to a great sermon about loving loudly, check out Pastor Tim Ghali’s sermon, “Love Loud”: https://youtu.be/ldEwhyiaaG8
Login To Leave Comment