Our Savior came to Earth in part so that he could show us, His brothers and sisters, the sort of life we should live. In His sermon on the mount, he told us, "Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy bneighbour, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you....For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same? (Matthew 5:43-44,46)
I served a mission for my church, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, in Bolivia, and while I was there, I saw how important it is to love others, and to love them unconditionally. Every time I go somewhere new or talk to someone new, I see how much each person, including me, needs to be loved by others. I know that it can be incredibly difficult sometimes to love someone, especially if we have been hurt by something that someone has done, but I've come to see that loving a person does not mean condoning everything that a person does. It means treating others with the love and respect that our Saviour would treat them if he were in our position. As I set aside differences and grow to love people that have come into my life, I feel a great happiness, whereas if I shut people out and I do not seek to know them and love them, I become miserable. I know that as I try to emulate the Saviour, I will become more and more happy, and I will come to better know my Heavenly Father and my saviour Jesus Christ.
2 comments:
Thank you for loving me with unconditional love and for sharing this post. I was just remembering some of those times last year when you stopped what you were doing to care for and love me even when I didn't want you to. You are one the examples in my life Jackie of Christlike love!
I really like this line: "He doesn't love us because we are extremely intelligent, because we are incredibly talented, or because we have prominent connections to other people--He loves us because He is our brother, and because He sees the divine potential we have within ourselves to become more like Him."
I think that is such an important aspect of love that our Savior offers us and that we should learn to offer others. So often we tell each other, that we appreciate their wisdom or their humor or abilities. We attach our love to something they do. That's certainly a good thing to do as long as we remember to love them for who they are as well. That is something I've been thinking alot about lately so that's why that stuck out to me.
I'm glad I discovered your blog. You should write again sometime.
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