As a Filipino it’s a part of our tradition to love one another. We see proofs through the system of our lifestyle; we are fanned of having an extended family which shows how we love,care, and how important our relatives are and we also have that Bayanihan system, where we can feel the spirit of Camaraderie from one another. At this moment of time, I will be talking about Love specifically loving one another. So what is Love? Everyone has its own definition of this four-lettered word and we based in our experiences and through the knowledge that we have. Some of us are telling that love is a pain, and that’s true, as latter day saints we believe that things should have oppositions so that we will be able to fulfill its essence, so thus, pain is a part of loving and living.
Look at the pictures; on here we can see how our Lord Jesus Christ suffered because of loving us. It was stated in the book of Luke 22:44 that our Lord Jesus Christ took upon Himself the weight of the sins of all mankind bearing its massive load that caused Him to bleed from every pore. And He was nailed to the cross for the atonement to be done perfectly as an offer for our sins. This is the perfect example that portrays love.
During the mortal ministry of Jesus Christ, He talked about which commandment is the most important of all? We can read this account in the book of Mark 12:28-31. The first important commandment is we should love the Lord our God and the second is we should love our neighbors as we love ourselves. And we can read the book of John 13:34 and 15:12 strengthening the second commandment that we should love one another like the way our Lord loves us. It is clear based on the scripture accounts that loving our God and loving one another is the most important commandment that we should do.
We understood that sometimes our situation in life affects our relationship to one another and to our God. Sometimes we are blaming God for our struggles and the people surrounding us. Brothers and sisters, we are all responsible for ourselves, all happenings to our lives are the fruits of our choices. And it is a fact of us that we choose whom we love; we love only the people whom we like with and whom we can be benefited. This attitude of us is against to the second commandment, Jesus Christ even teaches that we should love our enemies and we should pray for those who persecute us. I know loving everyone is really a hard work, especially in loving our enemies and the people we think who are not worthy to be loved. But I tell you! As we do what the Lord commanded us, He will strengthen us, and bless us to be more open-minded and to be more kind toward others.
If you are draining of strength think about the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ. You know I was struggled in the past and I know I will be struggling towards the future, I was imprisoned because of the consequences of mistakes, my confidence was blown away but when I learned about the Atonement of Jesus Christ and I learned to live the Gospel that the missionaries and this Church are teaching, I found peaceful home in my heart that I am confident that no one could take me out of there. I became more open to love others even my enemies and I learned to pray for those who persecute me.
Our definitions of love towards others are also affected by our modern way of living. Some countries are allowing now same sex marriage, the worst is some religion and some Christian sects agreed about this issue. Marriage is a sacred ceremony; this is just for man and woman who love each other. As a member of this Church, we should keep in mind that we are not ordinary people; we should stand a little more higher in the crowd. We should stand strong for the truth. We need to keep in working hard to teach the true doctrine of Christianity. Stand strong in a way that anyone should not be offended, even though in a fact that we know who they are. We need to deal with the people who are struggled like Jesus Christ did. Take a look again at the book of John 8:1-11, we can see on those passages how Jesus Christ deal with the woman who committed adultery. Instead of doing what the scribes and Pharisees were telling, He acted still and asketh the woman to go and sin no more.
The love of Jesus Christ is the best that we can imitate, His love is more on sacrificing we see that through His atonement, it is more on service and most of all it is more on Charity. 1 Corinthians 13:4-8; “Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanished away.” Charity is the pure love of Jesus Christ, charity is the best definition of Love, therefore, we should be more charitable towards others.
I do believe in this Church, this is my prayer and my humble messages; I leave it in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
feel free to leave your comments and questions at the comment box. Let's talk about it.
your humble missionary,
HAJI DAREN
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