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He Gave His Only Son

"Have you come to believe because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed."

John 21:29

• There should be less talk. A preaching point is not a meeting point.


• The dying, the cripple, the mental, the unwanted, the unloved-- they are Jesus in disguise.


• In the West there is loneliness, which I call the leprosy of the West. In many ways it is worse than our poor in Calcutta. (Commonweal, Dec 19, 1997)


• It is not how much we do, but how much love we put in the doing. It is not how much we give, but how much love we put in the giving.


• The poor give us much more than we give them. They're such strong people, living day to day with no food. and they never curse, never complain. We don't have to give them pity or sympathy. We have so much to learn from them.


• I see God in every human being. When I wash the leper's wounds, I feel I am nursing the Lord himself. Is it not a beautiful experience?


• I do not pray for success. I ask for faithfulness.


• Let us not be satisfied with just giving money. Money is not enough, money can be got, but they need your hearts to love them. So, spread your love everywhere you go.


• If you judge people, you have no time to love them.

~Mother Teresa~

Last week, Kelsey ended his reflection with the following prayer:

Father, there are so many lonely people in the world. Please provide friends to console and stand by them. Help us to learn from our friend Jesus how to be a friend.

I was thinking that St. Paul also wanted to help us learn how to be a friend. In his letter to the Ephesians, St. Paul laid out a good framework for us to be a good husband, wife, mother, father, employer, employee, etc. Basically, we can be all of these things if we look to Jesus as a model as Kelsey prayed.

How did Jesus teach us to be a good friend? By Jesus’ example, he laid down his life for us. Can you lay down your life for a friend? I don’t mean by actually giving up your life, but by putting your friend’s needs in front of your own. You can extend that to all of your relationships. If you are married, you can put the needs of your spouse ahead of yours. If you are a child, you can put the needs of your parents ahead of yours. If you are a parent, you can put the needs of your children ahead of your own.

St. Paul’s premise was that if we started building strong relationships within our family and close ones, then our society and country would be stronger. Imagine if everyone thought more about his or her neighbor than himself or herself. We wouldn’t have conflict in our neighborhoods or our city. Extend that to its logical conclusion and there would be no need for war or conflicts in the world.

Getting in touch with Jesus’ gospel of love and peace starts with you, the individual. Pray to God everyday that you can get in touch with His will for you. God wills that we will love each other and know that we have a friend in Jesus.

URLVD

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