What a Challenge!
by Ruth Hawkey
Yesterday I decided to take a cup of coffee to my granddaughter who was working in the local butcher’s shop. As I was walking down the road, it unfortunately started to rain and I wondered what on earth I was doing, especially as the rain got heavier and I began to get very wet and cold. Then the phrase came into my mind: ‘herein is love’.
As I handed over the coffee cup and she gratefully expressed her thanks, the phrase came into my mind again: ‘herein is love’.
After getting home and dry, I began to explore the whole concept of “What exactly is love?” I remembered the statement which Prince Charles made in 1981, when asked by a reporter whether he and Diana were in love. His reply was,“Yes – whatever ‘love’ means.”
After much deliberation I came to the conclusion that love is more than taking a cup of coffee to my granddaughter on a wet and windy day. It is even more than saying “I love you” to the special people in our lives.
True love is actually shown through action and it seems to me that the greatest expression of love is that which Jesus showed when He walked the painful road to the cross in order to set us free from our sin, so that we could be introduced to His Father and begin a new relationship with Him. What a wonderful example of love! As the hymn writer says: ‘Love so amazing so divine’. The only problem is that Jesus also said to His followers: “Go and do likewise”. What a challenge!
Prayer: Dear Heavenly Father please teach us how to love as Jesus loved. Help us to follow His example and to be willing to lay down our lives for other people. In His name we pray. Amen.
Ruth Hawkey has had the privilege of working alongside Ellel Ministries from the very beginning. She and her husband Joe helped to begin the work in both Glyndley Manor and Canada. She has written a number of books including Healing Emotional Wounds, Healing the Human Spirit, Generational Blessing and Generational Sin, and Praying for Children. She and her husband also helped to develop prayer ministry teams in the local church.
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