| Good Morning Everyone, Our theme for this month: The power of hope” Our Bible verse for today: “I give you a new command: Love one another. Just as I have loved you, you are also to love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” John 13:34-35 (CSB) Our thought for today: “Love is a verb” In its best tense, “love” is a verb. It’s an action word. It’s nice to say that you love someone but it’s better to show them your love with your actions. Demonstrations of love communicate in a much more powerful way than do words alone. Demonstrations of love can also give hope. Being on the receiving end of an act of Christian love, especially during a difficult time, can renew a person’s faith, lift their spirits, and give them hope. Recently I learned about a deeply touching demonstration of love done for my family and I, which happened more than five months ago but which I only just found out about. As many of you know, last October I received a phone call informing me that our daughter Tracy had terminal cancer and had only a short time to live. I immediately got on a plane, flew to California, got Tracy out of the ICU, put her on a plane, and flew her to Tennessee. When we arrived in our town, I brought her to our local hospice center for evaluation and to be stabilized for a few days. Then we brought her to our home, where she died just days later. What I didn’t know was that because hospice care is expensive, and because insurance only covers a small portion of it, the Hospice Center requires a fairly large cash down payment at the time of admission. However when I brought Tracy there, late at night after a long cross-country trip, no mention was ever made about a down payment being required. In the whirlwind of all that was going on at the time, the thought never occurred to me – not then or even later. It was only recently I learned that while I was in the process of traveling cross-country with my dying daughter, some friends quietly went to the Hospice Center in advance of our arrival, paid the deposit for us, and never said anything about it. When Linda and I found out about it just the other day, the news brought tears to our eyes and we said a prayer of thanksgiving for such wonderful friends. Although the event took place five months ago, finding out about it now was a lift to our spirits at just the right time. God’s timing is always perfect. In its best and most powerful tense, love is a verb. It’s an action word that is best demonstrated rather than spoken. When you demonstrate your love for someone by what you do, you bless them in that moment, but you also give them hope and assurance for the future. It’s wonderful to know that God has surrounded you with people who would do things like that for you. I encourage you to be intentional about demonstrating your love for others. Such love is a great source of hope in a world that sometimes seems hopeless. God Bless, Pastor Jim |
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