"The ultimate expression of following Christ is to receive His love, whether from Himself or from those who serve him, to be lifted and blessed by it and then to be for others what He has been for us...."
—Stephen E. Robinson, Following Christ-
Showing posts with label Service. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Service. Show all posts
Friday, December 19, 2008
Friday, December 12, 2008
What does Christianity consist of?
"Christianity consists not in abstaining from doing things no gentleman would think of doing, but in doing things that are unlikely to occur to anyone who is not in touch with the spirit of Christ".
—R. H. L. Sheppard, Treasury of the Christian Faith
Monday, November 3, 2008
More Than These
After the Saviours resurrection he appeared to Simon Peter whilst he was fishing. They then dined together:
'So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs.' (John 21:15)
I’ve thought about the phrase 'more than these'. The Saviour here was referring to the fish, asking maybe “do you love me more than fishing?”, I wonder what 'these' things would be for you and I?
Maybe the Saviour says to us, “do you love me more than………your job, the TV programme you’re watching, your studies, the clothes you wear, your money, your friends, your bed” (which is hard to get out of sometimes:), really there is a never-ending list of things which could be 'these'.
After Simon Peter had responded that he does love the Saviour, the response from Him, in effect, was “prove it” [Feed my Lambs]. If we do really love the Saviour, we’ll turn off the TV and go and do our Visiting & Home Teaching, we’ll get out of bed and read our scriptures, we’ll wear clothes that are modest and clean, we’ll help those in need, we’ll share the gospel, we’ll 'feed his sheep'.
I hope that our love for the Saviour is easy to detect.
'So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs.' (John 21:15)
I’ve thought about the phrase 'more than these'. The Saviour here was referring to the fish, asking maybe “do you love me more than fishing?”, I wonder what 'these' things would be for you and I?
Maybe the Saviour says to us, “do you love me more than………your job, the TV programme you’re watching, your studies, the clothes you wear, your money, your friends, your bed” (which is hard to get out of sometimes:), really there is a never-ending list of things which could be 'these'.
After Simon Peter had responded that he does love the Saviour, the response from Him, in effect, was “prove it” [Feed my Lambs]. If we do really love the Saviour, we’ll turn off the TV and go and do our Visiting & Home Teaching, we’ll get out of bed and read our scriptures, we’ll wear clothes that are modest and clean, we’ll help those in need, we’ll share the gospel, we’ll 'feed his sheep'.
I hope that our love for the Saviour is easy to detect.
Friday, October 31, 2008
Love Glorious Love
“Love is not just a nice feeling about someone. It is the pure and joyful pulse of the universe, and being in tune with it means you are in tune with the forces that bind together the stars on one hand and the atoms on the other. If we truly love each other, most differences become irrelevant and most forms of helping are pure delight.
Love literally has the power to cause change. During the 1970s, Ohio University conducted an experiment on rabbits, feeding them high-cholesterol diets and hoping to duplicate the effect that such a diet has on human arteries. "Consistent results began to appear in all the rabbit groups except for one, which strangely displayed 60 percent fewer symptoms. Nothing in the rabbits' diet could account for their high tolerance to the diet until it was discovered by accident that the student who was in charge of feeding these particular rabbits liked to fondle and pet them. He would hold each rabbit lovingly for a few minutes before feeding it; astonishingly, this alone seemed to enable the animals to overcome the toxic diet. Repeat experiments, in which one group of rabbits was treated neutrally while the others were loved, came up with similar results." (Deepak Chopra, Quantum Healing: Exploring the Frontiers of Mind/Body Medicine [NewYork: Bantam Books, 1989], p. 33.)
The student could not change the diet or refuse to give the high-cholesterol food. But what he did was to define a new reality for the rabbits. He did not see them primarily as animals that were going to die. Instead, they were worth loving. Because his assignment was to be with them, he was kind and gentle. And somehow, that attention was enough. Something within the rabbit itself seemed to reorganize its body chemistry to resist the toxic diet.
This example calls to mind the Savior's promise: "I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly." (John 10:10.) According to the measurements we usually use, for the most part Jesus did not make people's lives physically better. He fed the five thousand and healed the sick and even raised some from the dead, but his whole nation remained in political bondage. He didn't permanently improve anybodies standard of living or assure better jobs or good educations. Can we really say that he gave them a more abundant life?
Yes, he did. The Savior didn't want to give his followers a better version of the old life; he wanted to give them a new life. He gave them transformation, abundance, victory. And he did it by loving them. It is that same love that he feels for us, here and now”.(Chieko N Okazaki – ‘Lighten Up!’)
Love literally has the power to cause change. During the 1970s, Ohio University conducted an experiment on rabbits, feeding them high-cholesterol diets and hoping to duplicate the effect that such a diet has on human arteries. "Consistent results began to appear in all the rabbit groups except for one, which strangely displayed 60 percent fewer symptoms. Nothing in the rabbits' diet could account for their high tolerance to the diet until it was discovered by accident that the student who was in charge of feeding these particular rabbits liked to fondle and pet them. He would hold each rabbit lovingly for a few minutes before feeding it; astonishingly, this alone seemed to enable the animals to overcome the toxic diet. Repeat experiments, in which one group of rabbits was treated neutrally while the others were loved, came up with similar results." (Deepak Chopra, Quantum Healing: Exploring the Frontiers of Mind/Body Medicine [NewYork: Bantam Books, 1989], p. 33.)
The student could not change the diet or refuse to give the high-cholesterol food. But what he did was to define a new reality for the rabbits. He did not see them primarily as animals that were going to die. Instead, they were worth loving. Because his assignment was to be with them, he was kind and gentle. And somehow, that attention was enough. Something within the rabbit itself seemed to reorganize its body chemistry to resist the toxic diet.
This example calls to mind the Savior's promise: "I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly." (John 10:10.) According to the measurements we usually use, for the most part Jesus did not make people's lives physically better. He fed the five thousand and healed the sick and even raised some from the dead, but his whole nation remained in political bondage. He didn't permanently improve anybodies standard of living or assure better jobs or good educations. Can we really say that he gave them a more abundant life?
Yes, he did. The Savior didn't want to give his followers a better version of the old life; he wanted to give them a new life. He gave them transformation, abundance, victory. And he did it by loving them. It is that same love that he feels for us, here and now”.(Chieko N Okazaki – ‘Lighten Up!’)
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
We Need Not Wait
“We need not wait for Christmas, we need not postpone till Thanksgiving Day our response to the Savior’s tender admonition: ‘Go, and do thou likewise.’ ”
—President Thomas S. Monson (Ensign, Nov. 1994, 71)
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