Today’s Readings: Psalm 66; Numbers 14:26-45; Luke 24:36-53; Ephesians 5:1-14; Psalm 91
I learned an important lesson about love from my mother when I was just ten years old. Let me tell you about that lesson. My folks had three children before I came along. My brother Gene came along 10 years before I was born; my brother Keith came along 9 years before I was born; and my sister Karen came along 7 years before I was born. By the time I arrived, my parents were probably tired of taking care of kids and were ready to do some things for themselves for a change. My mother had dreamed of learning how to paint for years; unfortunately, she could never afford painting lessons when my siblings were young so she put off those painting lessons for years. She waited until two of my siblings were out of high school before she could pull enough money together to afford the lessons. In the spring of 1977, she finally started her painting lessons. During that summer, I became insistent that I wanted piano lessons. I had watched my sister play for years, and I figured it was time for me to start playing myself. My parents couldn’t afford painting lessons for my mom and piano lessons for myself so my mom made a difficult choice; she put aside her painting lessons so my parents could provide piano lessons for me. That simple act of sacrifice might not sound like much to some people – but to this day every time I think of what the word “love” means, I think of that selfless act on my mother’s part. I was reminded of this today when I read Paul’s words from his letter to the Ephesians that read: “Watch what God does, then you do it, like children who learn proper behavior from their parents. Mostly what God does is love you. Keep company with him and learn a life of love. Observe how Christ loved us. His love was not cautious but extravagant. He didn’t love in order to get something from us but to give everything of himself to us. Love like that” (Ephesians 5:1-2 from The Message). In the world we live in, it’s so easy for us to settle for loving cautiously. If you are tempted to love cautiously, I would encourage you to recall those in your life who have followed Paul’s advice and loved extravagantly. Remember how transformative those extravagant acts of love were in your life and then take a risk and extend an extravagant act of love to someone in your life as well. That simple act of extravagant love could go a long way in transforming someone’s world. Til next time…
I learned an important lesson about love from my mother when I was just ten years old. Let me tell you about that lesson. My folks had three children before I came along. My brother Gene came along 10 years before I was born; my brother Keith came along 9 years before I was born; and my sister Karen came along 7 years before I was born. By the time I arrived, my parents were probably tired of taking care of kids and were ready to do some things for themselves for a change. My mother had dreamed of learning how to paint for years; unfortunately, she could never afford painting lessons when my siblings were young so she put off those painting lessons for years. She waited until two of my siblings were out of high school before she could pull enough money together to afford the lessons. In the spring of 1977, she finally started her painting lessons. During that summer, I became insistent that I wanted piano lessons. I had watched my sister play for years, and I figured it was time for me to start playing myself. My parents couldn’t afford painting lessons for my mom and piano lessons for myself so my mom made a difficult choice; she put aside her painting lessons so my parents could provide piano lessons for me. That simple act of sacrifice might not sound like much to some people – but to this day every time I think of what the word “love” means, I think of that selfless act on my mother’s part. I was reminded of this today when I read Paul’s words from his letter to the Ephesians that read: “Watch what God does, then you do it, like children who learn proper behavior from their parents. Mostly what God does is love you. Keep company with him and learn a life of love. Observe how Christ loved us. His love was not cautious but extravagant. He didn’t love in order to get something from us but to give everything of himself to us. Love like that” (Ephesians 5:1-2 from The Message). In the world we live in, it’s so easy for us to settle for loving cautiously. If you are tempted to love cautiously, I would encourage you to recall those in your life who have followed Paul’s advice and loved extravagantly. Remember how transformative those extravagant acts of love were in your life and then take a risk and extend an extravagant act of love to someone in your life as well. That simple act of extravagant love could go a long way in transforming someone’s world. Til next time…
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