Not all of us can do great things. But we can all do small things with great love. – Mother Teresa
An expert of the law asked Jesus what he must do to inherit eternal life. Jesus asked the man, “What is written in the law?” The man answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’ (Deut. 6:5) and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself (Lev. 19:18).” Jesus responded that the man had answered correctly. “Do this and you shall live,” he said.
There is no question in my mind about it. An antidote to most of life’s ails is found in loving others. It takes our mind off our own woes, those real and perceived, those small and enormous. Ironic, but humility – considering the needs of others – is far from a weakness; it is really a strengthening quality.
I was visiting with a friend recently who showed me some pictures from his mission trips to the Honduras. In the display was a saying that caught my attention:
One child – one family – one community: see what love can do.
What can love do? It can teach us patience and kindness and humility. Think how these qualities encourage and value others! Love honors others and ‘forgets’ wrongs. It rejoices in truth. Love protects, trusts, hopes, and perseveres – always! Love can say what words can’t. Love never fails. Love brings about understanding. In fact, it is the greatest and most lasting of any thoughts, actions or attributes. 1 Corinthians 13:4-13
What happens when you pray for and pour love into one child, one family, one community, perhaps far from your own and maybe nearby? What happens, not just to them, but to you? Doing what we were created to do – loving others – might not remove all our burdens, but it has the power to lift us above them and to endure them with more grace. See what love can do today.
