As you go about your daily business and hear the radio music, see television and movies, books and magazines all explaining love in one way or another. You pretty much get the idea that love is about romantic interludes and sex. With Valentines day coming up you see candy, flowers and cards for sale and on the internet you can sign up for arranged meetings with the partner that is right for you. But Jesus had a different idea of what love was.
First Jesus tells us that we must forgive each other for our wrongs (trespasses),
He also tells us we must turn the other cheek, give our coat to those who ask and walk the extra mile. Jesus tells us that we must be kind to others, help the poor and feed the hungry. He tells us the story of the man who was beat by robbers and left for dead and how the good Samaritan cleaned his wounds, bound his wounds with medicine (herbs) and bandages, took him to an inn and paid to have him looked after. In true measure love is a Godly and sacrificial act, brought on by compassion. This can be the most difficult kind of love to act on. To give a part of yourself, to forgive and to help others, and yet Jesus tells us that we will be rewarded in heaven for this kind of love. It is not an imposition to give part of your garden vegetables to a low income family; or to sew clothing and quilts for the poor, or to buy a coat for someone that is cold, to give a homeless person a ride to a shelter or to save a small portion of your groceries each week for someone who in the future may need them, it is a gift from God.
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