Martin Luther King, Jr. said, “Hatred paralyses life; love releases it. Hatred confuses life; love harmonises it. Hatred darkens life; love illumines it.”
Love it would be fair to say “makes the world go around”. Love makes us flourish and healthier; it gives us a future and our lives meaning. Love also makes our faith work and without it Jesus says we actually can do nothing except crash around like a clanging cymbal. (Galatians 5:6 1 Corinthians 13:2)
“If speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a ringing gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have absolute faith so as to move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and exult in the surrender of my body, but have not love, I gain nothing.…“(1 Cor 13:1-3)
But how often does our attention and thoughts focus on thinking about the opposite of love and on negativity and how people irritate us instead? Our minds and hearts can easily get caught up in the negative, annoying and even strange behaviour of others, and within a short space of time we are filled with negativity and unlovely thoughts and emotions.
But what if we spent a moment every day thinking of someone to love and to share God’s goodness with? If first thing in the morning we asked ourselves and God the question “Who can I love today? Who can I bless today?”
God said His love in us never fails. That’s because His love is so powerful. The world and everything in it is framed by that love, and we are made with an immense capacity to love, if only we will open up our hearts to God so that He can shed abroad His all powerful love in our hearts.
“And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.” (Romans 5:5)
Mother Teresa whose life of love and service set an example of what a difference just one person can make when they love freely and powerfully said, “The greatest science in the world, in heaven and on earth is love. And the most terrible poverty is loneliness, and the feeling of being unloved”. She encouraged all to, “Spread love everywhere you go. Let no one ever come to you without leaving happier.”
When we seek to love like that we can wake up asking “Who can I love” and keep on thinking that throughout the day as we turn our attention towards the positive and consciously thinking and praying for others. Our minds start to be geared towards love and the good in people as we redirect our thoughts and hearts to love instead of judging and getting annoyed.
Today “Don’t waste time bothering whether you “love” your neighbour, act as if you do.” “For love is not something you just feel, it is something you do”. (C.S. Lewis) Look for who you can love and reveal God’s goodness to today and then go and do just that!
“If we have got the true love of God abroad in our hearts, we will show it in our lives. We will not have to go up and down the earth proclaiming it. We will show it in everything we say or do.” (Dwight Moody)
“Love takes no pleasure in evil, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails.” (1 Corinthians 13:4-8)
Prayer: Lord would you please fill my heart up with your love today and then give me wisdom as to where I can share it with others today. In Jesus name Amen
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