Thought for Wednesday 15 February

 John 13:34-35

Jesus said: ‘So now I am giving you a new commandment; Love each other.  Just as I have loved you, you should love

each other.  Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.’

We will continue the theme of love for this week.  To all whom this may apply, I hope you received the cards, flowers, chocolates etc. etc. to mark the celebration of Valentine’s day that you were hoping for. 

 

If we follow our Christian teaching, we should be demonstrating our love for those we are fond of and also, those we could never imagine being fond of every day of our lives.  This sets a considerable challenge before us because I know of no relationship whether in a courting or marriage situation or just between friends where there is never any disharmony or disagreement or accusation (accurate or inaccurate) or something else that leads to a ‘fall-out!    This can occasionally make it really difficult to love the ones you love, so how much harder must it be to love the stranger, the homeless person, the bore, the one that never quite fits in, the one that has offended you in some way, the criminal etc. etc?  

 

Our reading today tells us that if we behave in a loving manner to all those we come into contact with, this will go some way to proving we are disciples or followers of Christ Jesus.  Failure to behave in this way will also go some way to proving the opposite, that we are not real members of the Christian faith, that we may hear the words of God, but we do not reflect the things the bible teaches us in our day-to-day behaviour.

 

The celebration of Valentines can be great for some but really difficult for others.  We need to remember at this time there will be children at school seeing their friends receiving a card or cards while they have not received any.  There can be those who have made the effort to give some token of their love to another but receive nothing in return.  It will be a time for some to reflect on past relationships or the end of a current relationship which can be really hard to take.  There will also be some that will be alone because the Lord has taken their partner home.  This is a time when we should be extra loving to adults and young folk who find themselves in any of the positions mentioned and be diligent in remembering them in our prayers.

 

Prayer –Loving God, fill our hearts with the love that you freely give.  Make love our first and last thoughts.  May we love others and give our love freely to them.  Instil in us spirits of joy, happiness and love for our friends and also for those whom we find hard to love.  Help us aspire to love others as much as you Lord, have loved us with the love that will not let us go.  Amen