Wednesday, July 30, 2003
Wednesday, July 30, 2003
Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your
abundant mercy blot out my transgressions.
The first little pig went to the university library and read all she could on the subject of love. When
she had finished she had learned a great deal about love, but her life was still empty.
The second little pig read in the newspaper that a famous pig was coming to town to deliver a
series of sermons on the subject of love. The second little pig attended all the sermons and was
filled with enthusiasm and emotions. His emotional high lasted four days, and then his life
became pretty much as empty as it had been before.
The third little pig invited two other pig families over to their house one evening and all the little
pigs began to share their life stories, continuing until late in the night. They found this so
interesting that they decided to meet together regularly to share experiences and life together. In
time they came to care about each other very deeply. One evening, after the other families had
left, the third little pig said to her siblings "Now I know what love is, for I have experienced it."
That's the kind of love that happened in the New Testament church. That is the kind of love God
yearns for each of us to experience.
(Psalm 51.1
NRSV)
John R. Westerhoff tells a story about the three little pigs. Years had passed since the crisis with
the wolf. The family of the three little pigs had settled down comfortably in their brick house in the
suburbs. Gradually boredom set in. Something was missing in their lives. The three pigs decided
that what they were missing had to do with love. They determined to go out and seek love's
meaning.
Dear God, help me to experience your love by sharing it and by getting involved in a Christian
study and fellowship group. Amen.
