THE ULTIMATE GIFT
I have met many people from around the world. Regardless of the country that a person comes from, the amount of melanin in their skin or how a person dresses, love is something we all need to survive and thrive. Love is sent forth as energy. It can be felt by people, animals, or even plants. When you become angry your body can become sick. The same is true about when you are stressed. When you are loved and share loving and peaceful words with others, you create an environment of peace and positive change. Positive change and peace are things that can benefit the whole world. Did you know that people who are loved are able to sleep better? Did you know that people who are loved have been reported as having better heart health and mental health? Throughout the Bible it is written repeatedly that we are to express love towards one another. Here are some examples of that as it is found in the English Standard Version of the Bible:
Love Your Neighbor as Yourself (Leviticus 19:9-18)
9 “When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap your field right up to its edge, neither shall you gather the gleanings after your harvest. 10 And you shall not strip your vineyard bare, neither shall you gather the fallen grapes of your vineyard. You shall leave them for the poor and for the sojourner: I am the Lord your God.” Imagine that! In times of need, if we all used that principle of leaving a little food in case our neighbor heeds some help we could have a positive impact on so many lives! When we live in a land of plenty there should be no reason for any to have lack or need. Sometimes just taking that opportunity to consider the needs of others we can move mountains in the form of hunger in the community.
11 “You shall not steal; you shall not deal falsely; you shall not lie to one another.12 You shall not swear by my name falsely, and so profane the name of your God: I am the Lord.” God is telling us that by helping others we are showing love. Caring is sharing and being a positive help to others.
13 “You shall not oppress your neighbor or rob him. The wages of a hired worker shall not remain with you all night until the morning. 14 You shall not curse the deaf or put a stumbling block before the blind, but you shall fear your God: I am the Lord.
15 “You shall do no injustice in court. You shall not be partial to the poor or defer to the great, but in righteousness shall you judge your neighbor. 16 You shall not go around as a slanderer among your people, and you shall not stand up against the life[a] of your neighbor: I am the Lord.
17 “You shall not hate your brother in your heart, but you shall reason frankly with your neighbor, lest you incur sin because of him. 18 You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.
The Way of Love (1 Corinthians 13:1-13)
13 If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned,[a] but have not love, I gain nothing.
4 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant 5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful;[b] 6 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. 7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
8 Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away.11 When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. 12 For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.
13 So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.
Has there ever been a time when someone said that they loved you, but they rolled their eyes or say hurtful things about you when they are around others? Have there been times when someone has tried to get your attention, but you were so busy that you just had no time to talk to them or you were impatient with them because you just wanted them to hurry up so things could get done? Those moments may have happened to us all. That is a good time to slow down...ESPECIALLY when you feel rushed; and take a deep breath. Remember what Paul said to the Corinthians about love. It is not proud or boastful. It is patient and kind towards others. It does not seek to do wrong towards others, neither does it rejoice when bad things happen to other people. It does not wish for trouble to harm someone.
When I was a child, there were bullies in school who knew how to make every day miserable. I had to keep my chin up and remain positive. Children sometimes say and do things that they have not been taught are inappropriate. But as people mature into adulthood, learning how to be respectful and love our neighbors is important. We can be popular, wealthy, a fantastic singer, or well accomplished with a talent. Eventually all those things might pass away.but if you have a true loving spirit towards everyone, that will never fail you.
God Is Love (1 John 4:7-21)
7 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9 In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. 10 In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.
13 By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. 14 And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. 15 Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. 16 So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. 17 By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as he is so also are we in this world.18 There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. 19 We love because he first loved us. 20 If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. 21 And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.
Do you say that you love God yet you hate the person who cut you off on the highway? Do you hate the homeless people on the street? Do you hate your boss? If you have any of those forms of hate for people whom you are able to see, how can you say you love God, whom you have never seen? Do you use tactics of intimidation to get your point across to others? Intimidation brings fear. Love does not bring fear. Love casts away fear. Let love abide in you that you may be able to show others that you are a servant of God.
Jesus Gives A New Commandment (John 13:34-35)
34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. 35 By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
Jesus and Peter (John 21:15-17)
15 When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Feed my lambs.” 16 He said to him a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Tend my sheep.” 17 He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, “Do you love me?” and he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep.” Who are the sheep? They are the people you see every day. The people you see on the bus or the train. The people you see as you walk down the mall. They people you see sitting on the park bench. The feeding of the sheep is not necessarily a literal food. It is showing loving kindness towards others. We live in a time of mass violence and aggression is seen every day. This is a time when people seem to be comfortable saying “my gun is bigger than your gun” or “my bomb is bigger than your bomb”. Do people just not understand that there is NEVER a winner in those situations? If a bomb is shot off from one side of the world to the other, there is no winner. We are all losers and suffer a great tragedy by the loss of lives and destruction of our planet.
You might be thinking about people from your past who have been hurtful towards you. Perhaps they said something judgmental. Perhaps they gave you a mean glance. I can imagine that in those situations there might not be much motivation to be nice towards another person. Have you considered forgiveness? In the Bible it is written that we should be forgiving of others; especially if we want God to forgive our sins. Jesus said for us to pray for those who despitefully use us; so tell me, what does it hurt to smile at someone? What does it hurt to give a pat on the back or sit and visit with someone? I have yet to find anything bad that comes from doing these things. These things do not increase stress, struggle, or heart trouble. Sometimes a person’s life can be improved by leaps and bounds just by the love one person can share with another. Do you know what happens if stress, hatred, anger and bitterness are allowed to fester? When those feelings take root in your spirit, like a dandelion, the longer they fester, the more they take root. When that happens, you can begin to feel more stress. Some people get upset stomachs or ulcers. Some people suffer headaches or migraines. Some are just not able to emotionally hold it together and their bitterness spills over into the lives of others. The bitterness could just be directed towards the root cause of the situation, or it could be directed at anyone who reminds the person of the bad experience. Who wants to be unhappy? Not me! Do you?
I challenge you today to do an act of kindness towards another person. It does not require for you to be financially wealthy. It does not require for you to be a beauty pageant winner. You do not have to be popular. You can look plain and ordinary. You can be a terrible singer. You could live with meager circumstances. That is all okay. You were created by the Most High God, who loves you and wants the best for you. I challenge you today to smile randomly at people. I challenge you to share a funny story with someone, and laugh. I challenge you today to stop and listen to someone who just looks like they need somebody to talk to about anything or no particular thing at all.
In Conclusion…
In my search for the meaning of life, I have found that LOVE is the answer. It covers a multitude of sins. It heals and repairs relationships. It brings peace. It comforts a wounded heart. It restores mental health in someone who is depressed. Love builds communities. It does help in lowering blood pressure of someone who is stressed. Love and peace make it easier for someone who has been overwhelmed by stressed to be able to take comfort and rest. Love is something that we all can give and receive. And love causes no financial burden. Love is free for all and it is the very thing that we need to save our planet.
I hope this book has been some help to you. May your life be filled with peace and love for everyone you meet. I believe this is how our creator intended for things to be.
