Give us this day…LOVE. We’ve had enough. Overwhelmed by darkness…consumed by fear…frustrated by endless ups and downs of pandemic living…plenty of anger and violence to go around. We long for the love that the psalmist talks about.
What the world needs now is love, sweet love
No, not just for some, but for everyone.
But what is this LOVE that we really need to make it in this world?
Understanding
We all want that one person who “gets me.” A friend, a spouse, a family member. The one that completes our sentence and knows what we are thinking before we say anything. God GETS us. Just look at Psalm 139. YOU HAVE SEARCHED ME, LORD, AND YOU KNOW ME…BEFORE A WORD IS ON MY TONGUE, OR LORD, YOU KNOW IT COMPLETELY! Not only does God get us, but he accepts us–warts and all.
Respect
True love respects our uniqueness and what makes us tick. God made EACH of us individuals. Not one person is exactly the same. Even identical twins have differences in personalities and fingerprints! None of us have the EXACT same gifts, graces, interest, passions, talents, but we are all made by the same Lord.
Tolerance
Respect leads to tolerance. Paul teaches us in Romans 15 to ACCEPT ONE ANOTHER…JUST AS CHRIST ACCEPTED YOU, IN ORDER TO BRING PRAISE TO GOD. Tolerance allows us have different opinions, feelings, thoughts and walk different paths. Our task as followers of Jesus is to understand, accept, respect and tolerate one another, just as God understands, accepts, respects and tolerates us!
We all need love. Not the sentimental romantic love in the movies, but deep down honest, accepting, respectful tolerant love that allows us to become the people God knows we can be. Our prayer for these dark days and difficult times we are living is “Lord, give us this day LOVE.”
