Today Someone...Love.

Dear Lord,

Today someone wants to share a view about

LOVE:

I grew up in an undemonstrative family, that didn’t mean we didn’t love one another, we just didn’t show it, or say it…those three important little words…

I LOVE YOU.

We live in a sinful world where it has become unacceptable to say these precious words to certain people without the meaning being misconstrued. Woman to woman, man to man, and sometimes even man to woman, as they are then thought to harbour sexual desires for each other if they say, I love you. This societal scourge has made it uncomfortable for people to use these words to express their feelings outside of the family. It is a shame, as God’s greatest gift to us is love; He commands us to love one another, just as He loves us.

The following extract from Darrin Salle’s poem, Love, describes ‘love’ perfectly;

LOVE:

Love, to me, is not something in a book,

Something old, or stale, or weak,

Nor something exclusively feminine or soft,

And not feeble, timid or fearful.

It is not to do with the loins,

It is not to do with the head,

It is not to do with forced actions,

And it is nowhere in a lusty eye…

It resides in an indefinable spot in our chest,

Sometimes in our belly.

It is not tangible enough to be grasped with the hand,

But is more solid than the gold too many of us trust in…

To love, is to become a conduit for the eternal,

To handle the only heavenly commodity found on earth,

To feel the steady pulse of the universe,

To touch, and be touched, by the hand of God…

In all creation, nothing is more weather resistant,

More useful, more appropriate,

More adaptable, more enduring,

More ingenious, or more precious…

It is simple to handle,

Increases the more you give it away,

Always arrives with hope, joy,

And encouragement as companions…

It is fair and just,

Balanced and perfect.

It upholds and carries good,

And utterly opposes evil.

When people ask, Who is God?

I don’t think of a far off spirit being.

I think of His hand touching me inside,

And I understand why God is called Love.

The Lord has called me to ‘plant’ the needs of others, like seeds in a barren field; He wants me to tend to them and water them. 1 Corinthians 3:5-9, says it is not important who does the planting or watering, as long as one does the work the Lord gave him to do. God is the only important element, as it’s through His love and grace alone that He can make the seed grow and the plant bear fruit. How unsatisfactory an offering it would be to our Lord, if I felt no love towards others, whose needs He has entrusted to me. How wonderful it would be if I could sincerely say to my brothers and sisters; “I love you, and I will uphold your need in prayer.”

LET US PRAY;

Dear Lord,

If I have not love, my speech is no more

than a resounding gong.

I may have faith to move mountains,

but if I have not love, I am nothing.

If I give all I possess to the poor

and surrender my body to the flames,

but have not love,

I gain nothing.

Love is patient, love is kind.

It does not envy, it does not boast,

It is not proud, It is not rude,

It is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered.

Love keeps no record of wrongs.

It does not delight in evil

but rejoices with the truth.

It always protects, always trusts,.

Love always hopes,

always perseveres.

Love is eternal.

Lord, bless me with a love like this.

Amen.

(1 Corinthians 13: 1-13)