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by Rev. Fr. V.V. Paulose, Toronto, Canada
"Don’t just pretend to love others. Love each other with genuine affection. When God’s people are in need, be ready to help them." (Romans 12:9,10,13)
A friend in need is the friend in reality. As
long as our interest is not threatened, we are ready to go any length of time to
help others. That kind of friends are not friends at all. That is love in
pretention.
Love always hurt. Risk factor is a part of any type of love. Without cross,
there is no genuine love. Christ showed genuine love in his life by his death on
the cross.
We may be skilled in pretending to show compassion when we hear of other’s needs
or to turn indignant when we learn of injustice. But God call us to real and
genuine love that goes far beyond being hypocritical and polite. It demands
risk, our time, money and personal involvement. Look for people who need your
love and look for ways to help others.
Jim and Bill were friends in the Warfield of the First World War. Jim fell, and
was severely wounded in the trenches. The shelling continued. The danger was at
its peak. Bill wished to reach to his friend to comfort him from his safe
trench. The officer in charge refused to let Bill leave the trench to Jim. It
was simply too dangerous.
As the officer turned his back, however, Bill went over to Jim. He managed to get Jim back to the safety of the trenches. Too late. His friend was gone.
The somewhat self righteous officer, seeing Jim’s body, cynically asked Bill, if it had been "worth the risk."
Bill responded, "Yes,
sir, it was. My friend’s last words made it more than worth it. He looked at me
and said, ‘I knew you'd come.'"
"Love has a hem to her garment
That reaches the very dust.
It sweeps the streets and lanes,
And it can, it must"
- Mother Teresa.
Jesus, thank you for your love. We are fed up with the world of pretention.
We don't know who are the genuine friends and whose love is real. We are in
confusion. Gives us the power to discriminate between the real love and false
love, genuine friendship and fake friendship. Let us be the real love. We ask
this in the name of Jesus.
Amen.
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