How do I love thee? Let me count the ways. I love thee to the depth and breadth and height My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight For the ends of being and ideal grace. I love thee to the level of every day’s Most quiet need, by sun and candle-light. I love thee freely, as men strive for right. I love thee purely, as they turn from praise. I love thee with the passion put to use In my old griefs, and with my childhood’s faith. I love thee with a love I seemed to lose With my lost saints. I love thee with the breath, Smiles, tears, of all my life; and, if God choose, I shall but love thee better after death.

Sonnet 43 by Elizabeth Barrett Browning

Mere words.

Matthew 25:35-36 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.

Love in motion.

One is meaningless without the other. Don’t tell me you love me if you have done nothing for me. Do not do for me without telling me why.

I write these words because I love my Lord. If they touch you, it is because the Lord touches you. I do not know you but the Lord does. What I do for love are but mere words. What happens when the Lord touches you is because the love that is in me is also in you.

Hebrews 10:24 And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works:

The definition of provocateur is a person who provokes trouble, causes dissension, or the like; agitator. That sounds like something to avoid not encourage.

Acts 24:5-6 (NIV) We have found this man to be a troublemaker, stirring up riots among the Jews all over the world. He is a ringleader of the Nazarene sect and even tried to desecrate the temple; so we seized him.

Acts 23:10 (NASB) And as a great dissension was developing, the commander was afraid Paul would be torn to pieces by them and ordered the troops to go down and take him away from them by force, and bring him into the barracks.

Luke 23:5 And they were the more fierce, saying, He stirreth up the people, teaching throughout all Jewry, beginning from Galilee to this place.

The greatest provocateur of all time was Jesus Christ. Yes, He stirred up trouble, but it was only the troubled heart that was stirred. How that troubled heart responded to Jesus was based upon that hearts role in society. If the heart was a victim, it wanted change, relief, saving. If that heart was authoritarian, controlling, manipulative, then Jesus was seen as a threat, an obstacle in need of removal.

Same man, same message, same method, but received two different ways because of the condition of the hearts of men. We are all in need of salvation but only those who accept that they need it will receive it.

In the opening verse the writer of Hebrews was speaking to those who believe and have received Jesus Christ and how we are to entreat one another. You cannot be provoked to love in a heart that does not already contain it. The intention is to stir up that love which abides in you, a believer, so that love might do what love does best.