I am Love

... to save life or destroy it?

1 [a]Again he entered the synagogue. There was a man there who had a withered hand. 2 They watched him closely to see if he would cure him on the sabbath so that they might accuse him. 3 He said to the man with the withered hand, “Come up here before us.” 4 Then he said to them, “Is it lawful to do good on the sabbath rather than to do evil, to save life rather than to destroy it?” But they remained silent. 5 Looking around at them with anger and grieved at their hardness of heart, he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out and his hand was restored. 6 [b]The Pharisees went out and immediately took counsel with the Herodians against him to put him to death.-Mark3:1-6

God is Love. Our Creator is God. Therefore, we are created through love, in love and out of love. We are created after God's image and likeness, and love. We are primarily created to love and be loved also. Life should be about loving others and God. But God is so generous, that apart from love, we are blessed with more - intelligence, free will, conscience, artistry, and so much more. When our blessing is coupled with love, what a happy place the world will be! But, the hearts and minds of mankind are easily deceived. We burden ourselves with much Do's and Don'ts that we can even no longer remember why they even exist right from the start. We burden ourselves to be perfect citizens, but we lost the essence of why we are doing it. Jesus is reminding us all of Love. Laws without love is nothing. Perfection without love is nothing.

Image courtesy: artist

Who am I?

Who are you?

6 There was a man sent from God whose name was John. 7 He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all might believe. 8 He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light.

19 Now this was John’s testimony when the Jewish leaders[a] in Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him who he was. 20 He did not fail to confess, but confessed freely, “I am not the Messiah.”

21 They asked him, “Then who are you? Are you Elijah?”

He said, “I am not.”

“Are you the Prophet?”

He answered, “No.”

22 Finally they said, “Who are you? Give us an answer to take back to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?”

23 John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet, “I am the voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way for the Lord.’”[b]

24 Now the Pharisees who had been sent 25 questioned him, “Why then do you baptize if you are not the Messiah, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?”

26 “I baptize with[c] water,” John replied, “but among you stands one you do not know. 27 He is the one who comes after me, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.”

28 This all happened at Bethany on the other side of the Jordan, where John was baptizing.-John1:6-8,19-28

Who are you? Who am I? Do we really know who we are? Many of us would easily say, "Yes, of course." But the truth is, we really do not know ourselves well. It is through the eyes of other people that we can have a glimpse of our other side. And sometimes, these other people can choose to say the contrary especially if they have other motives.

Jesus says, "Come to me, all you who are weary and I will give you rest." With God, I need not worry who I am, because it is enough that my identity is as His beloved child. I am a sinner, yes. But I am still His much loved child and that He bestows upon me His love, mercy, compassion and forgiveness to start anew and be a better person. 

Image courtesy: artist