Valentine's Day is set aside to celebrate love!! For nearly 2 months (before the last Christmas ornament was put away) candy, flowers, balloons and a sundry of items decorated with or shaped into hearts of all sizes have been appearing everywhere. Reporters sought out couples to share their "love stories" from that first blush of human love to couples who've weathered 70+ years and the music that was heard in malls and offices everywhere proved that Yes, love is definitely "in the air"!!
The Saturday before the big day while driving away from the grocery after making a mad dash for last minute preparation for the weekend I noticed a man crossing the road in front of the exit. He had a large bouquet of flowers in his arms and walking step in step behind him was a small boy clutching a small bouquet of roses. He held them tight to his heart glancing at them with every step. As I watched I found myself thinking of the special someone who would receive these bouquets. I imagined the lump in her throat and the tears welling up in her eyes as she looked with love at the giver. The son or grandson of her love expressing his love so tenderly.
I found myself thinking of all the opportunities we each have every day (not just on "special days") to express our love to others and realized how often I squander those opportunities.
Those opportunities come in all sizes and ages :
the neighbor who might need a special phone call;
the person at work who sits alone during breaks; that little lady in line who looked so forlorn;
your husband or children who need a warm smile after a long day at work or school
and the list goes on.
Our Lord Jesus had a strong Word to us about love. In the gospel of John, the 13th chapter, verses 34 and 35 Jesus says to us - "A new commandment I give you, that you love one another; even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you love one another."
Thirty-nine words with enormous power dear ones.
We look at our lives and at our churches and critique behavior and programs rather than obey this command of our Lord Jesus! How different the landscape of our lives would be precious ones if we would obey this Word from our King of Kings!
In this Lenten season let us take our failures and our disappointments to the Lord and confess our sins together as members of His Body and commit to "LOVE ONE ANOTHER".
Love you,
Judy
LOVE, that is it ! What keeps me from it ?
ReplyDeleteBig, nasty SELF. Whether it is criticizing or complaining, as you say, it is SELF.
Praying that the 4 letter word "LOVE" will be more powerful than the 4 letter word "SELF". Feed the spirit and not the flesh,!!!
B
B,
ReplyDeleteYou hit it right on my sister.....We miss the opportunities because we are looking at ourselves! Yes...LOVE..to be the 4 letter word in our vocabulary!!
J
Ephesians 3:17 (KJV)
ReplyDelete17 That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love,
Can you just imagine, being rooted and grounded in LOVE? I think of a flower, blooming. It is rooted, in the ground, it becomes what it is beautiful.. What are our roots? If we could only see that as believers, we too are rooted, (in Christ), (Love)But when we bloom, wow it is not Love at the end of the stem that people see.
As a Christian, I always think, well I love everyone, I forgive everyone. OH YEAH! Do I?
The self protection we put on as fertilizer, how than, what we are rooted and grounded in make us look and bloom as LOVE? (SELF) It is there more than we know.
Yes, and more than we want...so what to do???
ReplyDeleteLet us - Hebrews 12:1 it :
1.Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,
2.fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
3.For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.
May we continue our journey friend and hold on to our Savior!