Hello Everyone. Have you noticed how many of our holidays have love as their reason for being? Some days are set aside to love our Creator. Out of love, we honour people like Martin Luther King Jr. and Saint Jean Baptiste. There are days to celebrate Moms, Dads, grandparents, children, and our special Valentine; and Remembrance Day to lovingly honour the men and women who defend us, some of whom died on faraway shores. We love our country on Canada Day.
With Father’s Day just around the corner, I am once again wondering why we find it necessary to legislate love. Isn’t the sharing of God’s word enough? In Luke 10:27, Jesus said, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind; and love your neighbour as yourself.”
There it is. Everyone is included. Always. Age doesn’t matter. Country of origin or legal citizenship don’t matter. Our cultural traditions don’t matter. Skin colour doesn’t matter. Which side of town you live on doesn’t matter. Rural or urban roots don’t matter.
All that matters is that we are human beings living on this planet. You matter. I matter. Jesus said that the people who come and go in our lives are to love us as they love themselves. And you and I, as we come and go in the lives of others, are to love them as we love ourselves.
“The Gift of Blessing”, written by Gary Smalley and John Trent, Ph.D., speaks of the five elements of the Biblical blessing given by Issac to Jacob in Genesis, chapter 27: meaningful touch; spoken words; expressing high value to, and picturing a special future for the one being blessed; and making an active commitment to fulfill the blessing. Which elements of that blessing can we use to bless someone every day? Let’s pray about it.
We may not be able to change the destruction occurring in the world today, but loving others can make a difference in the world around us. Let’s do it together. Amen.