13 Simple Ways To Live Out Love

All of us were created to love and be loved. Yet too often we complicate what it looks like to live out love. Love is simple – yet incredibly hard. Below I want to list a few simple ways to live out love in our daily lives.

Live Out Love

• Say “thank you” – all the time.
• The next time you’re at a restaurant, cafe, or store, look your server in the eye, notice their name tag, and say their name when talking to them.
• Leave a generous tip, especially if you don’t think they deserve it.
• When you’re with someone who has different opinions (life, politics, religion, etc) don’t say anything. Just listen and look for ways to talk about something you have in common. (I know, it’s hard).
• Hug.
• Smile.
• When someone doesn’t say thank you to you – bless them anyway or wish them a great day.
• Think about those you dislike the most…pray for them.
• Mean it when you ask people how they’re doing and then give them an opportunity to tell you.
• Gently touch someone’s hand, arm, or shoulder (ask permission first). There is power in touch and love is felt through a gentle touch.
• Pause before giving advice or an opinion – then ASK if you can offer your opinion or advice. (It is much more likely to be received!).
• Invite a neighbor over for tea/coffee or to go for a walk.
• Send a handwritten card or letter to a friend or relative.

These are just a few ideas. There are literally thousands upon thousands of ways to live out love. What would you add to this list?

(Issue No. 5 includes a couple of articles and worksheets for you to think about and record what love lived out looks like. For example, this page leaves space for you to creatively add your ideas of what love looks like. This is free to download with the purchase of a copy of the magazine.)

One doesn’t have to live long to know that each person defines love differently. What seems loving to some isn’t loving to others. Which begs the question, who is right? Truly some actions or words are more meaningful to different people. Even so, there must be a standard – a plumbline – for love otherwise, declaring that love is whatever we want it to be can result in a punch in the face while the person says, “That’s how I express love”; and that punch can be with words – which has a great and longer-lasting impact.

Thankfully, there is a blueprint for Love; the basis for this is a holy God. (To go deeper in the spiritual realm and with scriptures on the topic of love, click here).

Issue No. 5 explores Love Lived through stories, art, and poems. Get your copy here.