Further...

Further, in two passages from the New Testament, we see that Christians are called to a life of loving service through pastoral action and direct participation in the lives of others.

James 1:27 states, "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." Also, 1 John 3:18 says, "Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth." Of course, the most compelling command for Christians is found in Matthew 22:37-40 in which Jesus says, "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. '