The Power of Love

 

Psalm 37:8 (NRSVue) - Refrain from anger and forsake wrath. Do not fret—it leads only to evil.

Here, the Psalmist encourages both patience and trust.

To do that, we must put aside anger,

We must not give in to fear.

For human beings, this is easier said than done.

Fortunately for us, we do not have to do this on our own,

Paul understood this when he wrote to the Thessalonians.

Paul encouraged them with his blessing.

1 Thessalonians 5:15 (NRSVue) - See that none of you repays evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to all.

When people feel wronged, their first reaction is to avenge themselves by striking back.

But that is the conditioning of the world.

That is not the way God designed us to live.

We were designed to love.

We were created to forego vengeance,

Christ tells us to love God.

Christ also tells us to love our neighbor.

But we cannot love completely on our own.

We only experience complete love when we have been made anew.

That is when we truly welcome God’s love into our hearts.

We then understand that God loves our neighbor.

God even loves those whom we feel have wronged us.

True love is the key.

Paul reminds us of this too,

1 Corinthians 13:13 (NRSVue) - And now faith, hope, and love remain, these three, and the greatest of these is love.

May we take these words to heart.

May we share the love God has for us with others.

May we remember that God loves them as well.

 

Blessings,

Jim Pokorny

The Other Brother Jim

Look for me at faithfulfeetteam.blogspot.com on Friday, September 6, 2024.

I will be back here on Friday, September 13, 2024