Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up.
[1 Corinthians 13:5]
A story is told of two friends who were walking through a desert together when one of the friends slapped the other in the face. The one who was slapped wrote a note in the sand saying "Today, my best friend slapped me in the face". But as they walked further along, the one who had been slapped fell into a pool of water and began to drown. His best friend reached down and pulled him out of the water, saving his life. This time, the friend who had been rescued etched a note on a stone saying "Today my best friend saved my life".
When asked why he wrote one note in the sand and the other note in stone, the one who had been slapped and then rescued replied "When someone hurts us, we should write it down in sand, where the winds of forgiveness can erase it away. But when someone does something good for us, we must engrave it in stone, where no wind can erase it."
So many times we never let the winds of time take away the hurts we receive from others, but rather transfer them onto slabs of cement. If you want to be healthier and happier, then daily take the twin vitamins of forgive and forget!
Today in our text, the Apostle Paul is telling us that love keeps no record of wrongs. If we are to live our lives to the fullest, we must forgive those who have hurt us in many ways and write it on the sands of time. Never etch them on tablets of stone as they will only lead to stress, which is a mess and puts a hole in your chest. Love is like a hurdling race; you come to an obstacle, jump over it and keep on going. How many of us have over and over gone down the tracks of time and overcame drawbacks, setbacks, snares and ambushes, because the anchor of love was securely fastened by our faith.
So many times love is just for the convenience of obtaining immigration status or the wealth and fame of a family. But true love casts out fear, and if the love of God abounds, then the sacred vows of marriage leads on to the joy of children and family life. Not only must we love at the altar. We must extend love to all we meet and come in contact with.
I pray you constantly read the 13th chapter of First Corinthians. To those who are married or about to be married, it would do good to read it together so that the words will be your constant guide as you go from day to day. I do pray that families read it together and children take it as their road map. Frame it and hang it on the walls of your home or office.
We must seize every opportunity as Bahamians to show the world that we are indeed a peaceful people, a Christian nation and the love of God flows in our hearts. Indeed the time is now when we must lift up our heads to the rising sun and let the world take note of the manner of our bearing, which is love for God, brotherhood and country.
o E-mail rubyanndarling@yahoo.com or write to P.O. Box 19725 SS Nassau, Bahamas with your prayer requests, concerns and comments. God's blessings!
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