Saturday, April 27, 2002
Saturday, April 27, 2002
And this is his commandment, that we should believe in the name of his Son
Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us.
But it's not always easy to love. Many years ago while Albert Beaven was in college, one of his
friends did something that hurt him deeply. Albert was so angry with this person that he swore
he would get revenge. As he was walking around campus he thought of various ways to even
the score. He saw a sticky burr covered with sharp, porcupine-like thorns that had fallen from
a tree and put it in his pocket. Albert's plan was to carry the burr with him until he found the
person who had hurt him. Then he would throw the burr down his friend's back and rub it over
him causing great pain. Perhaps we can all identify with Albert. When someone hurts us we
want to hurt them back -- we want to hurt them more than they hurt us.
But something interesting took place that day as Albert walked around campus with that burr,
looking for the young man who had offended him. Every time he took a step the burr would
prick his leg. Every time he sat down, it hurt even more. Finally at the end of the day, Albert
pulled the burr from his pocket and discovered that all the thorns were gone. They were all in
his leg. He had wanted to even the score, but instead he discovered that he had only hurt
himself. When we want to hurt another, we end up hurting ourselves even more. The opposite
is even more true. The more we love the more we are loved.
(1 John 3.23
NRSV)
The essence of Christian faith is love. Listen to some selected words from 1 John: "Behold,
what manner of love the Father has bestowed upon us, that we should be called the children
of God. . . For this is the message that you heard from the beginning, that we should love one
another. . . This is how we know that God loves us, because He laid down his life for us: and
we ought to lay down our lives for one another. . . Little children, let us love, not in word or
speech, but in truth and action." A person reading John's words from this epistle might
conclude that at the very heart of the Christian Gospel is love -- and he or she would be
exactly right.
Dear God, it is no fun getting hurt, but, instead of perpetrating the hurt, may I perpetrate your
love. Amen.
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