No Greater Love

We have several gathering places around town where we can pickup the latest news about what is really going on. One of our favorites is the Post Office. On one visit this week we encountered a couple that was getting ready to leave for a trip down to Port Charlotte to take a "care package" to some friends who are suffering from Hurricane Charley.

Everywhere we turn, we are seeing acts of kindness. A little boy was concerned for us if our house did not make it through the storm and offered us to stay with his family. He had packed his favorite toys and a little food in his backpack, and had his big winter coat on and was ready for the storm. He was prepared to take care of us. Teenagers and some a little older helped put sand in bags to help people in Cedar Key prepare for the storm. Many people in Cedar Key were checking on the needs of their neighbors.

Drivers in the Daytona Beach area behave with polite kindness to one another when the traffic lights do not work. They recognize each intersection with a non-working traffic light as a 4-way stop. One hotel manager heard about a widow suffering without power and water and gave her an efficiency apartment for a few days. What an act of kindness!

We received an e-mail from some Christians in Uganda who are concerned about us here in Florida. Our dear friends in Russia have written and called asking about us. They saw on their news the great storm that was attacking Florida. People from all over America want to help their fellow citizens who are suffering from this recent storm.

People are not doing these acts of kindness because they hope to realize some personal gain. The materialistic law of reciprocity has been temporarily set aside. Jesus taught us about this true love in the story of the Good Samaritan. (Luke 10:25-37) Jesus told this parable to illustrate that when God says to love our neighbor as ourselves, sometimes this neighbor may be a total stranger. The Samaritan in the story was willing to go the extra mile in order to help someone who was a stranger. What a better world if we would all treat one another with this same kindness even when life is good.

The primary force that motivates people to follow Jesus Christ as their Master is love. The kind of love that Christ taught in his sermons, and more importantly in his examples -- is sacrificial love. The words of Jesus about love are strong and compelling. "My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends." (John 15:12-13 NIV)

In the Gospel of Matthew chapter 25, Jesus tells us about the Day to end all days. He speaks about the time when he will appear in great glory with all the angels. This will be a time of separation of the righteous from the unrighteous, like a separation of sheep from goats. The righteous will hear: "Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me."

Jesus taught what love means when he grieved with the loved ones of Lazarus. He showed us love when he fed the 5,000; when he changed water to wine for a wedding feast; when he taught the Samaritan woman at the well; when he healed the sick; when he gave sight to the blind; and when he raised the dead. Finally, when he gave himself to die on the cross so that we can all have eternal life by believing in him as the Son of God. Let us give our lives to Christ by giving ourselves to one another.

You are invited to attend the services of the Church of Christ at the corner of 3rd and E Streets. Write me with any questions or comments David Binkley, Sr., P.O. Box 186, Cedar Key, FL 32625 or E-mail at dgbinkley@aol.com. You may also request to receive the daily WORD OF THE DAY by e-mail. Check out our web site at
http://www.cedarkeychurchofchrist.com.