Love of Christ!

Bible Reading: Luke 14:1-6

My mother, Indrani Asirvatham, was a pianist and church organist who loved singing.  She loved this song very dearly.   In the late sixties, the salvation movement swept across India, and she accepted Christ in her late thirties.  She loved many songs, and this song, "Love Lifted Me," written by English-American lyricist James Rowe and set to music by American organist Howard E. Smith, became her testimony. 

Love lifted me!  Love lifted me!

When nothing else could help, Love lifted me

Love lifted me!  Love lifted me!

When nothing else could help, Love lifted me.

Sabbath Day observance was one of the central issues of Jewish identification.  Failure to obey the Sabbath day law would result in the death penalty for the offender.  The Pharisees had become masters of creating several man-made rules that became a heavy burden on the people.  Jesus went into the house of one of the rulers of the Pharisees to eat bread on the Sabbath, where He saw a man with dropsy.  Jesus asked the Pharisees If it was lawful to do good on Sabbath, and when they kept silent, He went on to heal the sick man, for he needed healing!

Jesus knew that the real problem was that the Pharisees had become cold in their Love and care for people.  They honestly did not care.  They, indeed, had no love!  They had lost sight of the royal law, upon which all the laws and commands hung.  Jesus said, "You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.' This is the first and great commandment.  And the second is like it: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.  On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets." (Matthew 22:37-40).  It was to love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, and secondly, but equally importantly, to love our neighbor as we love ourselves. 

Why did God ask us to love others as we love ourselves?

It is because He loved us first.  While we were still sinners, Christ loved us and redeemed us.  And He expects us to love the people around us just as He had done!

My friend, let us not be rule-bound or tradition-bound in doing good.  That way, we would be entirely useless to others in this life.  The Love of Christ can be shown to this World only through our lives.

Prayer:  Jesus, make me an instrument of Love and peace in this hurting World.  Amen.

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