William Hetzer, Sr.
June 1, 2007![](https://www.houmatimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/b882a9ff322025fc109083ba8a4747ca.jpg)
Gerald Hite, Sr.
June 8, 2007Rev. WILMER L. TODD
The great St. Augustine once said, “Two cities have been formed by two loves: the earthly by the love of self, even to the contempt of God; the heavenly by the love of God, even to the contempt of self.” How often do we hear people say, “What’s in it for me?” How seldom do we hear people say, “How can I serve?”
How did Jesus love his disciples? He challenged them to be their best selves and live a life of service, commitment, and compassion. Loving as Jesus loves does not make life easier; it makes life worth living. I would like to share three points with you about love.
1) Love starts close to home but should not stay at home. If we are not loving those who are close to us, then we might not be loving anyone at all. Those closest to us are the ones who call on us to love all the time, no matter what.
Many occasions exist in our daily life when God calls us to forget ourselves and bring some measure of caring to those who are physically close to us. Running an errand for someone in need, speaking kind words, sharing another’s burdens n this is the stuff of love. You cannot live with another person and avoid the call to love every day.
However, our love cannot remain at home. We need to discover how to reach out to others who need the particular love that we can give. This could mean the service that we give to others as volunteers or financial aid that we give so that others may live with some sense of human dignity. We all need to discover where and how we need to take our love.
2) Love comes primarily from the head, not the heart. That might seem strange! When we are talking about the love that is part of Jesus’ commandment to love one another, then we need to know that this kind of love comes from our head, that is, from our ability to choose.
A little girl came running into the house exclaiming to her mother, “Mama, I love you!” The mother replied, “I am so glad you love me. I have had a hard day and I am so tired. If you love me so much, will you wash the dishes for me?” The little girl replied, “I do love you, mother, but not in that way.” Love does not consist in saying words but in doing deeds for another n like the dishes. Love finds it ways into life through the decisions we make.
3) Love Takes Time. We cannot be in a hurry when we are bringing our love to others. In fact, for many people, the gift of time is exactly the kind of love they need from us. We are all suffering from a large overdose of busyness and the terrible side effects that busyness brings into our lives.
If we are too busy to visit a sick relative or friend, or just to chat with a lonely neighbor, then we are just too busy. Love takes time. We need the luxury of bringing our love to one another without worrying how long it will take. I know that this is difficult. However, we really need to reexamine how our use or misuse of time is helping or hindering our love.
Jesus directed us, “Love one another as I have loved you.” He told us this to help us reverse our self-destructive tendencies toward selfishness. He also showed us that even in the midst of our pain and suffering, we can still love and be loved. Love is the last word because God is love.