Thought fir 17 April 2023

1 Corinthians 13:3-5 NIVUK

 

If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship

that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing. Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.

At his clinic in Topeka, Kansas, Dr. Karl Menninger instructed his entire staff that the most important thing they could offer any patient was love. He said, "If people can learn to give and receive love, they will usually recover from their physical or mental illness."

(From a sermon by Bruce Howell, "God’s Valentine" 2/9/2009)

Do you have enough love in your heart to share with those you interact with daily or is it hard enough to give love to those you are ‘supposed’ to love?

News Flash we are supposed to love the same people Jesus loves. End of story!

Dr Menninger got it right when he told his staff that giving and receiving love helps people to recover from physical or mental illnesses. How many times have we been ill and received a visit or a phone call from someone just to ask if we are improving or if we need company for a wee while.

How many of us have been touched by the love of a friend or stranger? How many have received a kind word or action at just the right time? Sometimes Jesus will use a complete stranger to let us know that we are not alone, He is with us always. Do we allow Jesus to use us in the same way, when we see someone in need of the reassurance of Jesus love do we give freely?

Love and kindness go hand in hand, there is no point in professing love if kindness is not included in the mix. Of course, we also need honesty because we cannot pretend to be loving and kind if these emotions are not in our hearts. False love is worse than no love at all, it has no value to anyone. Most people can recognise it, making them feel worse than when they started. Not to mention that Jesus Christ can see right through it.

Jesus does not love falsely, He proved that by the shedding of His blood on Good Friday.

We are not asked to do what Jesus did and we give thanks to God for that. However, we are asked to live our lives as Jesus taught. By loving and giving of ourselves in the service of His, and our, heavenly Father.

In this world as it is now, we need all the love we can give and receive. Love is the very emotion that Satan is trying to smother in people so we must make every effort to thwart his plans by leaning on the strength of Jesus our Saviour to give us the love needed to share with those in need of His presence.

 

Prayer

Lamb of God who teaches us how to love, help us to love others as You love us. Give us the ability to spread Your love to everyone who has need of it. No matter who they are or what kind of life they live, help us to see them as You do. Bless those who do not yet know You, let us be the crack in their lives that may open fully to welcome You into their hearts. We pray in Your own precious name, amen