“the greatest of these is love,” says in I Corinthians 13:13, NIV
Do you love only those who care about you? Or, someone you know can love you back? Isn’t real love ought to be offered to everyone?
Many personalities in human history showed us how to love – not just some but everyone. Let’s name a few of them and invite you to celebrate their “sweet love” story with me. Mary Teresa Bojaxhiu, reverently known as Mother Teresa, is at the top of my list. She founded Missionaries of Charity. Accordingly, it “grew to have over 4,500 nuns across 133 countries. It “manages homes for people who are dying of HIV/AIDS, leprosy, and tuberculosis” and also “runs soup kitchens, dispensaries, mobile clinics, children’s and family counseling, orphanages and schools.” She did all these great things with great sweet love. In her words, “Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love.” The next person is one who “led marches for the right to vote, desegregation, labor rights, and other civil rights for people of color in the United States through nonviolence and civil disobedience.” He was assassinated and died many years back. However, his legacy is still alive. We live in a world where “there is just too little of” love in the hearts and minds of many people around us. Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. challenges us to keep moving forward and use the greatest force in the world – love. He said, “Love is the greatest force in the universe. It is the heartbeat of the moral cosmos. He who loves is a participant in the being of God.” The world needs more people like them, who believe in the power of love, and such selfless love can change the world upside down.
As Christ’s disciples, are we not sent out into the world to love others like Jesus did? How about your participation in spreading love? Can you think of a moment when you selflessly shared love with others? Did it make a difference? How? Let us not forget that God requires us to love – not just for some but everyone!
Prayer Song:
Songwriter: Burt F. Bacharach/Hal David
What the world needs now is love, sweet love
It’s the only thing that there’s just too little of
What the world needs now is love, sweet love
No not just for some, but for everyone.
Lord, we don’t need another meadow
There are cornfields and wheatfields enough to grow
There are sunbeams and moonbeams enough to shine
Oh listen, Lord, if you want to know
What the world needs now is love, sweet love
No not just for some, but for everyone. Amen.
