Embracing Love!
Love is such a powerful word. Every day, even more this year, it has become even more of a driving force for me. These past several months have been some of our most trying as we are in the midst of a pandemic that has taken so many lives and affected so many others. We have grown weary of political rhetoric that divides more than unite us together in the face of battling an invisible foe. Everything that we have had to contend with has brought us to a place of thanksgiving. This year Thanksgiving is different, yet I feel it is stretching us to love even more.
I’m sure you recall the biblical story about the Good Samaritan. On his way to Jericho, a Jewish man was attacked and left on a deserted road half dead. Before long, a priest came by, saw the man and crossed over to the other side without offering any assistance. Not too long afterwards, a Levite came and got close enough to look at the man and kept going. Again, not offering any assistance. Many of us see firsthand our brothers’ and sisters’ plight, but just like the Jewish man and the priest we have elected to overlook it and do nothing.
Then along came a Samaritan—someone who, including the battered man, was despised because of his ethnicity. The Samaritan immediately attended to the man’s wounds and took him to a nearby inn where he nursed him through the night. Prior to leaving the next day, the Good Samaritan paid the man’s expenses in advance and promised to pay any additional expenses on his return. This act of humanity illustrates a commitment to love others as we love ourselves.
The Good Samaritan exemplifies a worthwhile character to emulate. He confronted a challenge and did not walk away from it. We face a similar challenge in battling this invisible foe. Refusal to do our part by simply wearing a mask demonstrates us walking away. The price is too high to walk away. We have already paid a high price in the thousands of lives lost, the strain on our health system, and the negative economic impact it has had.
My concern, as I hope is all our concern, is to do our part in combating this invisible foe. We cannot walk away and do nothing. We have a responsibility. “We need to remember: We’re at war with a virus — not with each other,” said President-Elect Joe Biden.
I am reminded of Jesus when he didn’t think it was beneath him to gird himself with a towel of servanthood and wash the feet of his disciples. I can only imagine how dirty those feet were from walking in the unpaved streets shared by humans and animals. Yet, Jesus humbled himself enough to wash those dirty nasty feet.
The towel of servanthood for us this Thanksgiving is a little smaller. It is a mask. Just like the towel Jesus used represented love for others, the mask that we wear today also represent love for others. I am amazed at how such a small piece of cloth has caused so much division when we desperately need to be united in this battle.
Every time I am reminded of the hundreds of thousands of lives lost and even more that are suffering, it causes me to love a little more and just wear a mask. I am grateful to be able to do my part in combating this noisome pestilence. You see, how can I say I love my neighbor as I love myself and I am not willing to demonstrate that love by not only helping to save others’ lives, but my own as well.
Love is patient, love is kind, and love is not selfish. We must love fervently. Love must be the guiding force for us this Thanksgiving and throughout the holiday season. President-Elect Joe Biden sums it up this way, “This Thanksgiving — and in anticipation of all the Thanksgivings to come — let us dream again. Let us commit ourselves to thinking not only of ourselves but of others.”
Have a Safe & Happy Thanksgiving!
Jacqui Showers
The Bold Encourager
Business Encouragement Coach
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