Message of the Day
Love means to love that which is unlovable, or it is no virtue at all; forgiving means to pardon that which is unpardonable, or it is no virtue at all.
– G. K. Chesterton
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(What would this mean for you this day?)
Meditation on the Gospel
– from “Daily Bread”
“Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.”
Jesus seems to be attacking apathy and indifference here, even the status quo. It’s so easy to accept things as they are without question, much less action. But to stand by and do or say nothing in the face of grave injustice is opposed to all Jesus taught and lived. We must call our leaders to task if their policies cause death, destruction or oppression. We must challenge large corporations when greed supersedes just policies. We must fight discrimination wherever we find it. Being “with Jesus” means taking bold stands when remaining silent would be more comfortable.
“Lord, for an end to indifference and apathy in the face of injustice, we pray.”
Spiritual Reading
At the Master’s Feet
– by Sadhu Sundar Singh
Christ speaks:
2. If ye are My disciples indeed your service of love will bear much fruit (John xv.8). And if men speak evil of you and pelt you with reproaches, pray for them, and instead of reproaching them let them taste the sweet fruit of your love.
Mischievous boys, when they catch sight of sweet fruit on a tree, pelt it with stones, and the tree without a murmur drops upon them, instead of stones, its charming fruit. For the tree has no stones to throw, but what God has given it, it gives without complaining. Be not cast down by ill treatment, for the fact that men fling abuse at you is full proof that yours is a fruitful life. Though they treat you thus from envy and spite, yet by that means the glory of your heavenly Father is made manifest. Do not suppose that God hungers after glory, or that there is anything lacking in His glory that man can supply. By no means! The object of His love is to lift that mean creature man out of the sinful state into which he has fallen and bear him upwards to His heaven of glory. Thus He gives not glory to Himself but to man by cleansing and purifying him, and in this the wonder and majesty of His love is made manifest.
– Part 4, Section 2
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My valentine every year is Jesus because he loved me so much when he laid down his life for me . God is love.
Thanks, Rocket. We have the same Valentine.
Thank you for the lovely photo of a yellow iris on Valentine’s Day. I am sending Lo and everyone reading this my love. The sun is setting here in Cherating on the East Coast of Malaysia and I’m listening to a lovely prayer from the nearby mosque. There is a gentle sea breeze blowing here by the South China Sea, cooling everything down after a hot day. Valentine’s Day feels a world away, but you have brought it home to me.
Happy Valentine’s Day to you, peacevisionary. Thank you so much for your lovely comment and sharing your world with us. Love to you, too!
My mother had twenty-two grandchildren, one of which during the adolescent period was particularly obnoxious. My mother wisely said, “Sometimes it is the most obnoxious child who needs love the most.
Thanks, Bev.