Posts in category: The Shepherd’s Blog

About this time last year, precisely on Easter Sunday, I wrote about how difficult and strange the times were.  I did not know at that time that it was going to get a lot more difficult and stranger.  I do not believe I have witnessed or ever heard about so many deaths as I have heard in the past year.  I had thought not having the opportunity to worship at the Sanctuary on Easter Sunday was one of the most difficult experiences I have had, not knowing that we were just at the tip of the iceberg then.  This past year, beginning from April 2020 for most of us, has taught us that the ability to control our situation does not perfectly rest with us.  This past year has changed our lives in ways we never deemed hitherto possible.  We social distanced, we physical distanced, we wore masks, and washed our hands many more times than our previous years on earth put together. And, despite all of these, this raging virus wrought more death in the world than we could have ever imagined.  Every time we think we see a ray of light at the end of this dark tunnel, something happens, and we are back where we started. This has left many of us wondering about what tomorrow will bring. 

My brothers and sisters, I want to encourage us with the words of the song by Larry Ford, “I know Who Holds Tomorrow”. “I don’t know about tomorrow; I just live from day to day; I don’t borrow from its sunshine; For its skies may turn to grey; I don’t worry o’er the future; For I know what Jesus said, And today I’ll walk beside Him; For He knows what is ahead. Many things about tomorrow; I don’t seem to understand; But I know who holds tomorrow; And I know who holds my hand.” We may never know what the future holds for us in these very uncertain times, but we sure know the one that holds the future, and we know He lives forever.  The greatest threat that the virus has brought upon us is death, but Christ Jesus Himself defeated death and won a victory for those who would believe His name.  Often, at times when seriously bad things happen to us, we always think and believe that our life has come to an end.  All throughout His ministry Jesus Christ promised life-everlasting to those of us who believe in him. 

So, while certain circumstances of life, like this corona virus may be capable of ending physical life, and make us think that our life has ended, Jesus says because He lives, we also will always have a life.  He said it so very clearly in John 10:10, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life and have it to the full”.  So next time you think life has ended for you because of its uncertainty remember that you already have abundant life in Jesus Christ and as believers we must daily hope for and anticipate that abundant life.

My brothers and sisters, in times like this, we should not act as people who do not have a life.  It does not matter how much damage the virus has done within a year.  Of course, we do not know how much longer this nightmare is going to last, but we still have life.  This circumstance does not change our abundant life.  This circumstance is time-limited, but the abundant life Jesus offers us is forever.  Many people today hope for a long and happy life, but Jesus offers so much more.  He offers forever—eternity, life without end!  The promise of life everlasting is the heartbeat of hope.  And the resurrection of Jesus ensures that we too will be resurrected.  Because He lives, we too can live, and we can face tomorrow because we have so much to live for.

God gives us the strength to go through circumstances, which comes from knowing Jesus Christ in our relationship with Him. The same power that resurrected Jesus from the dead enables us to have the strength we need to overcome whatever trials come our way.  There are times things happen such that we begin to think God may be angry with us, while our experiences are just to build us up.  And even if God were angry with us, “His anger lasts only a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime; weeping may stay for the night but rejoicing comes in the morning (Psalm 30:5). We are on our Friday before resurrection, our Sunday cometh soon.  Only those who are Christian can look at the Fridays of their lives and face the future with the kind of certainty that will allow them to say, “It is Friday, but Sunday is coming!”. It may look very dark now.  The valley may seem very deep now.  But I assure you, light comes in the morning and the God we serve on the mountain is the same God in our valley. Let us celebrate our risen Lord with hope for tomorrow.  Happy Resurrection and may the power of resurrection continue to work with each and every one of us now and always!

My stepdaughter’s father, a devoted Moslem, has this constant response for most things I greet him about.  It does not matter what the live event is, his usual response is “In all things we thank God”.  When his father died and I greeted him, his response was the same.  When he was appointed as a member of one world body on IT security, his response was still the same.  In essence while he is a Moslem, he seems to still be able to follow the injunction of Apostle Paul to the Thessalonians that we must give thanks in all circumstances. “Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus” – 1 Thessalonians 5:18. I took note of this because I know for a fact that it is one of the hardest instructions to follow.

Ordinarily, no one thinks about thanking God in times of grief.  The most common emotion is “why me?”.  If we pause to think about it a little more, we realize there is no why, because the question has always been “when me?”. The truth is it is quite difficult to escape this life without having experienced grief.  Our prayer is that we can go through whatever situation led to our grief and come out of it much stronger. However, if ever there is an odd couple of events in our lives, it is gratitude and grief.  How on earth can I give thanks when my heart is so troubled because of the great loss just experienced.  It is like the case of the Israelites who were carted away to captivity and were still asked to sing the Lord’s song (Psalms 137:3).  They wondered how they could sing the Lord’s song in a strange land (Psalms 137:4).  When we grief, we are in the strange land of our lives.  When we grief, our hearts and our joys are essentially held captive by the events of our grief.  King Solomon says there is “a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance” (Ecclesiastes 3:4).  We tend to show gratitude when we are happy and joyful.  So, we interpret King Solomon’s statement to mean that the times of grief and joy do not go together.  And we also live our interpretation.  But the Word of God says, “Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus”.  If God says this then grief and gratitude must not be as mutually exclusive as we think.

We must stop viewing grief and gratitude as mutually exclusive emotions. In His Sermon on the Mount our Lord Jesus Christ made a statement that confirmed we can show gratitude to God during our moments of grief.  He said, “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted” (Matthew 5:4). The Lord is saying here that, those who grieve are blessed and they are comforted.  Even if we cannot thank God for anything else, let us thank God for His blessings, let us thank God for His comfort.  His blessings and comfort deserve our gratitude. In our time of grief, only the Lord gives us the kind of comfort we need.  He never stops loving us, He never stops to lead us, rather He shows up, calls us by our names, and lets us know that it shall be well.  Even while we are broken, His word continues to speak to us that our afflictions are but for a moment and achieves for us an eternal weight of glory that surpasses the afflictions (2 Corinthians 4:17).  We can thank God for that.  We can thank God for His words of encouragement and we can thank Him for the promises of a better tomorrow.

It is hard not to grieve when we lose loved ones, and it is okay to grieve anyway because God is not annoyed by our sorrow.  In fact, it seems that He is attracted to it because it creates a window of opportunity for us to enter God’s presence for some desired intimacy.  Our God shows up in the crucible of our emotion. Some folks will say a child of God should not grieve; I say, let us go ahead and grieve, but let us grieve with hope.  As we invite our good Lord into our grief and gratitude, He teaches us how these seemingly mutually exclusive emotions can coexist when we need it most.  In moments of grief, gratitude helps to lift us up and open our hearts to the immense possibilities of God’s goodness and grace.

No matter what we walk through in this life, we are called to give thanks, to praise His holy name, and to worship Him. To know God and make Him known. To glorify God and enjoy Him forever.  So, we can grieve but we can also thank God for the memories of our loved ones.  We can thank God for the life of faith they lived.  We can thank God for His promises for us.  We can thank God for what He is teaching us by walking through our trials and tribulations. We can thank God for the imperishable hope He gives us in the middle of our pain, knowing fully well that whether we are alive or dead we belong to the Him.  But above all we can thank God that even amid our grieve, His comforting presence is ever felt amongst us.  So, in all things, be it joy or sadness, we can thank God.  To His name be all glory, honor, and majesty now and forevermore.

The promise we have in the Word of God is that God will not leave us comfortless.  In fact, the Word of God says He is “the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort”- 2 Corinthians 1:3b.  This promise is available to us today.  We however go through some things in our lifetime that tend to increase the level of our discomfort and we begin to forget the promise that God will not leave us comfortless (John14:18). “God is our refuge and strength an ever-present help in trouble” – Psalms 46:1. So, we know He is always there for us. And verse 2 in the passage above says it does not matter even if the mountain falls into the sea, we will continue to trust in our God.

God knows what we are going through, especially in difficult moments like this.  There are just so much news of death around us these days that it cannot but depress our hearts, but God knows. He sees exactly what is going on and His Word for us is to stay strong and be courageous. Right now, it may seem as if the wind of life is blowing against us, but we must remember the experience of the disciples in Mark 6.  Jesus had asked them to go ahead of him to Bethsaida after they just finished feeding five thousand people.  The feeding of 5,000 people with five loaves of bread and two pieces of fish was itself a remarkable event.  But this is the time that Satan chose to test them and test their faith, because it was not long after they entered the boat that the wind was against them.  While Jesus was praying, He saw that they were straining and that they needed help.  Jesus knew their limits and at the appropriate time He showed up to help them out.  God knows our limits and He knows our circumstances.  God knows right now how low we feel in our spirit, but He is our help.  He is the glory and lifter of our heads.  He is the lifter of our souls.  He is our God, our comforter and He will not test us beyond our limits.

This is a trying time for a lot of people all over the world.  Parents losing their children, spouses losing their partners, children losing their parents, and lifetime friends lost to a raging pandemic in a matter of days.  We live in a fallen world.  This means pain and suffering are inevitable.  Sometimes these pains are in the form of the loss of our loved ones.  And as Apostle Paul stated in 2 Corinthians 4:7, our bodies and minds are truly like jars of clay that are easily broken and shattered.  Right now, many of us are in that place.  However, regardless of the terror of our present storm, we can be rest-assured that the captain of our soul has not forgotten us. There is no doubt He is praying for us now just as He was praying for the disciples all the while during that long stormy night (Mark 6:46). To know that should have calmed their inner storm and ours too, if not the outer. It is to us caught in the storms here and now, not just to the disciples, that the writer of Hebrews says, “Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them” (Heb 7:25).  Be comforted, brothers and sisters, our Lord Jesus Christ is praying for us too, and He is able to save us completely as we go to God through Him.

There is a word of comfort for us in Isaiah 41:10, 13; it says, “I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.  For I am the LORD, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you.”  He is our God from whom all our help comes.  In this time that grief seems to surround us, we shall continue to put all our trust in Him.  We realize our helplessness and acknowledge that He is almighty.  He is our God, Our Comfort.

Something marvelously strange about our comfort is the fact that we are not God. There is something here that should give us the peace we need.  If we turn all our affairs to the Lord, then every call is His call.  It may not be what we desire, but He oversees our affairs now and as we continue to trust in Him, may He deal with our affairs as He wills.  He is our God, our comforter. The winds are His, the storms are His, the darkness is His, the sea is His, but underneath all of these are His everlasting arms.  We give all glory to the one that is able to lift us up.

The Bible talks about dead faith, which we can also refer to as empty faith, or useless faith.  It is that kind of faith that is as good as being non-existent because it is not accomplishing what God wants or desires of it.  “…. faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead” (James 2:17).  Many of us have only this kind of faith, but God wants us to have faith that is fruitful.  Our faith is not accompanied by action because our faith is not complete.  There are some things that, when added to something else, make it better just like the condiments we add to hamburger.  Our faith is more like food without salt.  It is bland, tasteless and does not satisfy our desire and God’s purpose for us.  It stands to reason then that our faith lacks action or deeds or fruit because it is missing some vital ingredients or shall we say condiments or faith enhancer. 

Apostle Peter says there are certain things we need to add to our faith for our faith to be effective and productive. What are these faith enhancers? “For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love.” – 2 Peter 1:5-7.  Our faith does not seem to be able to achieve much on its own. In fact, James said that faith without deed is useless (James 2:20).  The question is, what deeds can we accomplish without these faith enhancers?

So that we do not get things twisted, we need to restate that faith is key; faith is the foundation we must build on.  All these faith enhancers will also not get us anywhere without faith.  All the faith enhancers listed by Apostle Peter are not available apart from faith. So, we must remember that apart from faith there is no goodness, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, mutual affection, and love. However, our faith is lame without the faith enhancers.  Take for example our desire to love our neighbors or help the poor.  Our faith by itself is worthless in this instance without goodness, mutual affection, and love.  The faith enhancers help us to accompany our faith with deeds.

One thing to also keep in mind is that unlike food enhancers, you can never over enhance your faith.  Too much salt for example will mess up the taste of the food.  But the more our faith is enhanced by godly virtue the more productive it becomes.  Apostle Peter said, “For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ”- 2 Peter 1:8.  My brothers and sisters, we must have faith, even if it is the size of a mustard seed, but we must put our faith to work by adding godly virtues in increasing measure. As we grow in godly virtue so also our faith becomes more productive.  According to Dr. David Jeremiah in his book “Everything You Need”, God has given us, the faithful, everything we need for our life’s journey.  What He gave us are our faith enhancers, we must aspire to have them in increasing measures because along with our faith, our journey of life becomes a lot easier.  May His grace abound for us always and may we continually grow in godly virtue in Jesus’ name.

While we have been hemmed in on all sides with all sorts of undesirable news in recent times, I am never in doubt that we remain more than conquerors through Christ who loves us. “We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed” (2 Corinthians 4:8-9).  Not only do we all now know someone who has succumbed to the overwhelming effect of the Covid-19 disease, we have been personally touched and affected by its most devastating effect, death. It is hard these days to go through a day without learning about someone whose life is lost to this disease. The reality of the effect of this disease weighs heavily on many of us.  Yet we wake up daily, pick up our mantle and move on.  Surviving and functioning in these climes is not by anyone’s power but only by the grace of God.

If one would be very honest, it is difficult to hear about an illness in this season and not think about death.  We think about the rate at which folks are being separated from their loved ones and the fear of death grips our souls.  Yet, for us Christians, death is meant to be our liberator from this world of sin and, as Apostle Paul puts it, death is not capable of separating us from the love of Christ.  As we ponder on these things, we realize that men of old have gone through even worse sufferings and they continued to be held up by their faith.  Apostle Paul talks about what he called “the sufferings of this present time” (Romans 8:18 – NKJV) and in the face of the suffering declares that he anticipates a greater glory.  We are obviously going through a lot now either by getting struck with the disease or taking care of those had been struck or by grieving those who have succumbed to its most devastating effect.  Friends have passed, siblings have passed, parents have passed, and some have even lost their children.  How are we responding to this threat on our peaceful existence?  How do we respond to this thing that seems to make our lives as unbearable as it can possibly make it?

We must learn from the experience of our foremost Apostle, Paul.  In the face of all the tribulations he faced, he declared in Romans 8:37 that “Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.” We conquer after we have fought a battle.  So, when Apostle Paul talks here about being conquerors because of the help we get from our Lord Jesus, the lover of our souls, he was saying that to overcome we must fight as in a battle.  It is a battle for our souls and a battle for our ways of life.  The battle shall be won but we must, like those who go to battle, be ready to fight.  We cannot deny that the impact of the virus, and its attendant restrictions on the way we live our lives, places us under tremendous stress. The effect they have on us and our loved ones seems to be waging a frontal attack on our faith and our health, body, mind, and soul.  This is an invasion of Satan and his foot soldiers.  Our only recourse is to rise up and fight, because in all these trials we are more than conquerors. 

Paul’s words here are both encouraging and challenging.  They are encouraging because they remind us that God has indeed given us all we need to live our lives, including in times of trials and tribulations like these.  They remind us that all we need to do is keep trusting in the Lord and He shall see us through.  Remember, His Word said that “No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it” (1 Corinthians 10:13). His Word tells us He has already made us overcomers.  We are already conquerors. Paul’s words should also challenge us as Christians to take the battle to our adversary, Satan.  His words should cause us to rise up as warriors that are ready for battle.  As Christians our main weapon is prayers.  It is time for us to rise up in prayers.  We must not set ourselves up as “sheep to be slaughtered.”  We must pray and not faint.

We should also use this period of adversities as a time to learn.  Apostle Paul told us that “We rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame” (Rom. 5:3-5).  We shall overcome, no doubt, but we must be prayerful so that when we finally go through, we would not only have overcome but we would have been transformed by His power and grace.  We must not waste our trials.

The Christian calendar of Lent has come upon us again.  It is meant to be a time of abstinence, penitence, repentance, renewal, and rededication.  It is a time to approach the throne of grace just exactly the way we are and seek mercy and grace from our God most high.  We must make this season more meaningful by allowing its importance to weigh on our hearts so we can focus more on the real essence of the season. Lent is a great time to “repent” – to return to God and re-focus our lives to be more in line with His purpose for us. It is a 40-day trial run in changing our lifestyle and letting God change our heart. We do it yearly so we can perfect our walk with God.

The whole idea of Lent is influenced more by the 40-day fast that we often engage in during this period.  Our attitude during this period then must be based on biblical word on fasting.  We get a glimpse of what fasting should be about in Joel 2:12-17.  “Even now declares the Lord, return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning” (vs 12).  This indicates that whenever we are fasting, we must approach the throne of grace with penitence – a feeling of remorse or deep sadness for things we have done wrong.  The penitent attitude is not about feeling ashamed or discouraged about things we have done, but rather to point us towards a life of resolve, a resolve to change our ways and live a life of personal accountability to God, to God’s people, and to oneself.  Being penitent is an indication that we have been awaken from our previous position of slumber, of ignorance, of disobedience, and recognition that we had hitherto been on a path that is at odds with God’s purpose for our lives. Once we recognize this, it makes it easy for us to repent and resolve to live a more purposeful life.  So, we see that abstinence at this period is not an end by itself, but it is a means for us to move toward penitence and repentance.  Our first set of Be-attitudes at Lent are thus: Abstinence, Penitence, and Repentance.

As we embark on this journey towards repentance, the first thing we must do is to keep our eyes fixed on God.  “Now, therefore,” says the Lord, ‘Turn to Me with all your heart’” (Joel 2:12).  We must turn from self and turn to God.  Let us make this period about God and our relationship with Him.  This season must not be just about tradition, it must be a period of intense focus on God.  Study His word, seek His face, prioritize the time spent with God daily, and be sure to live according to the tenets of our faith. While pursuing repentance we must also strive to stay away from sins.  This is not the time for us to be caught in the cords of our own sin. Remember we are looking unto God for grace and mercy, but we cannot continue to sin and expect grace to abound (Romans 6:2).

In addition to focusing on God, this season, we must let our change be from within.  Joel 2:13a says “Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the Lord your God.”  Let us resolve to be honest with our maker.  The song we often sing, “Just as I am without one plea”, presupposes that we are completely open with God.  We must be honest with God not because He does not know, but because our honesty is a pointer to our true penitence. God already knows our heart, but it is necessary for us to acknowledge, for our own sake, where we have gone wrong.  We must eschew every form of hypocrisy in the presence of the Lord.  This season is not about making a show of our faith, or calling attention to how righteous we are, or just about going through the motion. Going through the motion only fools us, it does not fool God.

In this season we must have a positive attitude.  As we approach the throne of grace, trust God that He is able.  It does not matter what you have done or where you have been in the past.  The word of God says, ““Come now, let us settle the matter,” says the Lord. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool”” (Isaiah 1:18).  There is no issue that God cannot settle.  The toughest ones are our sins, and God says if they are red like scarlet, He can make them as white as snow.  Our God is able.

Finally, brethren, always be in an attitude of prayer.  We must use Lent as a time of intentional prayer. Pray fervently, because prayer helps convey our remorse to God while strengthening our relationship with Him.  As we pray for ourselves, let us also intercede in prayer on behalf of other brethren.  Let us resolve to change and to make a change.  Let us resolve to be impactful wherever we are to change our world.  When we do all these, our fasting becomes meaningful and our God is glorified.

I have experienced different forms of Valentine celebrations in my lifetime.  In my High School days, we will come to class sometimes before the day, all of us looking forward to our usual Valentine Day tradition.  The tradition then was to pick ballot papers that reveal who your Valentine that year would be.  Many of us who did not have the courage then to talk to ladies always hoped and prayed that the master orchestrator will orchestrate the ballot to favor you such that the one you have been secretly admiring will turn out to be your Valentine.  It usually never worked out.  As we grew up, the tradition changed to parties on Valentine Day.  Usually, the guys plan the parties and invite the girls.  Now it is about making the wife the happiest on Valentine Day.  Different seasons, different expressions of Valentine love.  Same love, different modes of expression.  Along with the day also comes different forms of expectations.  Roses, chocolates, sweet messages of love, dinner out, etc.   When we cannot express love that genuinely fulfills the expectations, we act them, or we lie our way through them.  We have created a vision of an ideal love celebration.  Many times, the hopes do not always match the reality.  The day comes and goes like any other day, the celebration either ignored, avoided or faked.

While we often say that love is not a feeling, the truth is that love does make us feel good.  So many of the actions of love that are shown on a day like Valentine Day often engender a good feeling.  The danger here is that we go to great lengths to make people feel good because that is the only feedback that matters to us.  You find that Valentine love is many times tailored to get the good feeling.  So, while our intention is to show love at Valentine or celebrate love at Valentine, let me just say, many times, and I say many times, Valentine just offers the opportunity to go through the motion, a motion devoid of action.  I came across a new Nigerian fad on social media and it did not immediately occur to me what they were trying to get across so I had to investigate it.  It turns out the new fad had its origin from an old Preacher who was trying to warn people about the effect of fake love at Valentine.  The man will say things like, “I love you” then he will end it by saying “lori iro”.  “Lori iro” means “on top of lie” or “it is a lie”.  So, it goes like, “I love you” “lori iro”; “you are my chocolate” “lori iro; “you are beautiful” “lori iro”; and so on.  It was funny, but it is very true.  Valentine love expressed these days is often not the real love; it is not genuine love.  It is love just tailored to get you to believe a lie.  As children of God, we should not be part of these types of lies being passed as love.

In 1 John 4:7-8 the Bible talks about love in the most apt manner.  “Beloved, let us love one another, because love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.”  How do we as children of God begin to understand this truth?  1 Corinthians 13: 4-7 lists all the attributes of love.  “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.  It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.  It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.   Wow!  So, before we begin to say that common phrase, “I love you”, we really need to check if we mean all of the attributes mentioned above, because it is only when we mean this that we can really say that we love. When we say it just so that we can get someone to feel good, then it is a “lori iro” kind of love.  That is not the kind of love we are called to share.

My brothers and sisters, on this Valentine Day, a day we celebrate love, I just want you to remember that we love because our God first loved us.  I want you to also remember the attributes of that love as detailed in 1 Corinthians 13:4-7.  I want you to remember that God Himself is love, and His love is very different from the kind of love many of us profess.  God’s love is unconditional, and it’s not based on feelings or emotions. God’s love does not deceive.  God’s love is genuine.  God does not love us because we are lovable or because we make Him feel good.  God loves us because He is love and He created us to have a loving relationship with Him.  When we went astray, He sacrificed His Son to restore that relationship.  The least we can do is to love Him in return.  When we love God, it becomes easier to love ourselves too and that love, that is based on God’s love, endures, and it is genuine.  This is the love we are called to express always.  Show some real love to your loved ones today people of God.  Happy Valentine’s Day and may you always be able to express godly, genuine love, in Jesus’ name.

Judge Frank Caprio is a Municipal Court Judge in Rhode Island who has become a viral video star for his unique type of judgments.  For a while now, I have enjoyed watching some episodes of his court trials.  The unique aspect of his hearings, to me, is the attention he pays to the individual stories of the people brought before him.  In the end when he gives his judgement, they are often more influenced by the stories he heard than the facts of the case.  In one case he fined a woman $50 only to find out it will leave the woman with only $5 in her pocket.  He changed his judgment and dismissed the case. In an interview with the Associated Press, Judge Caprio said he thinks he should take into consideration the uniqueness of their stories.  Did they just lose someone? Is someone sick and in the hospital? Do they have kids that are starving? And so on, which are all part of real-life situations.  Asked what he thinks about his judgements going viral, he said it was because people are accustomed to the institutions of government coming hard on them without regards to any personal situations.  This is to say, even when people have done something against the law, their stories still matter in the way judgments are given against them.  This is another way of saying we must temper justice with mercy.  Everyone has a story to tell. The stories we tell help to bring into focus where we are coming from and where we are in our journey of life.  It is important for us to tell these stories and it is important for us to listen to other people’s stories.

God has called us to love other people the same way we love ourselves.  If loving myself requires that I know myself and understand myself, then it goes to say that I must also know my story.  If I do not know my story, then I cannot say that I fully know or understand myself.  In a similar manner, it is important to know the one we seek to love.  That love journey begins by knowing the story of the object of our love.  God has called us to show love to others, particularly the downtrodden, the poor, and the oppressed.  It requires that we know their stories.  It does not matter how bad we think someone may have been, God does not intend for us to disregard them and their stories.  We must listen to their stories so that we can see the opportunities God is bringing to our attention.  While these stories are important in helping us to see the work of God in others, interestingly it also helps us to see how connected we are.  If we do not recognize how our stories are connected, we will be discounting the God that is in each of us.  To attempt to live solely unto ourselves conflicts with God’s design for us to be in relationship with our fellow human beings. God created us to be together and wants us to maintain our connections with one another. Through our stories, our humanity is bound together with God.

Remember the story of the rich man and Lazarus that Jesus Christ told to His disciples in Luke 16:19-31.  The rich man lived in luxury, wearing fine linen while obviously looking at the beggar with such disdain even as the beggar longed to eat whatever fell from the rich man’s table.  It is safe to say that the rich man did not care about Lazarus’ story and obviously did not realize the interconnectedness of their unfolding stories. With all the wealth and power and opportunity he had to do some good, he chose to focus solely on himself and his life of luxury.  As the story goes, they both died and the rich man found himself in hell, only to look up and realize that Lazarus was by Abraham’s side on other side.  Still looking at Lazarus with disdain, he asked Abraham to ask Lazarus to dip his hand in water and touch his tongue.   When that was turned down, he wanted Lazarus to go to his family to warn them. He was reminded of how good it was for him and how bad it was for Lazarus in their lifetime. They had interconnecting stories, but the rich man did not recognize it.  This became an albatross for him.  His problem was not about his riches but that he refused to see and help someone who was hurting and who God placed in his path. He refused to hear Lazarus’ story and as such could not be a blessing to him.

Brothers and sisters, we ignore our interconnectedness to our own peril.  God has a purpose for each of us and everyone He brings across our ways are meant to be part of our stories and part of His plans for us. Judge Caprio recognizes this, and it influences his judgments. When we ignore our connectedness and view someone else as inferior, as the rich man did, we are invariably ignoring God, the author of those connections.  When we fail to realize our need for our interconnections, we become more selfish and resentful. When we refuse to help others who are hurting, or even just find out their stories, we change the trajectory of our own stories for the worse. People of God, it is crucial to our well-being that we become aware of the connectedness of our stories and how important it is for loving our neighbors like ourselves.

We have been discussing the reality that some Christians find it difficult to love their neighbors because they do not understand the concept of love enough for them to love themselves.  We generally have this false concept of self-love which results in activities of self-indulgence that lead folks to “over-loving” themselves to the point of neglecting the needs of others close to them.  We “love” ourselves so much and do not love others nearly enough.  Our warped idea of self-love is the root of the greed we see in society and the determination to win by all means necessary.  If we must face facts and look deeper into the idea of love, we find that most of us do not love ourselves enough and because of this lack of love for ourselves we end up hurting others rather than loving them the way God wants us to. 

When we think about love in general, many of us think about something that makes us feel mushy or sentimental.  We think in terms of the “eros” kind of love that makes people desire to be desired based on some momentary attraction.  We tend to think love is about a feeling, but many times we have learnt from the word of God that “love acts” (1 Corinthians 13). The love we reference when we talk about self-love or loving our neighbors the same way we love ourselves is neither a feeling nor an emotion.  True love cannot be measured by how good we feel but by its capacity for faithfulness and how well it expresses itself for the good of the recipient.  On the other hand, true love is about the recognition that all creation is good and our creator, God, has created all of us as part of His grand plan for the good of His creation. 

To define true love, otherwise known as Agape love, I will say it is the determination to know our roles within God’s grand plan, and to do our possible best to enhance our life or that of someone else for the purpose of fulfilling that role.  It is about faith, it is about commitment, and it is about action. It is also about giving; it is about caring; it is about extending a hand of fellowship for your own betterment, for the betterment of your neighbor, and for the glory of God.  To love oneself, therefore, we must strive to know what our roles are within God’s plan and then we must make the efforts to do our best in preparing our hearts, our souls, and our bodies to diligently fulfill that role, giving all it takes as we are able.  Self-love is having the confidence that I am who God says I am and working as hard as possible, with God’s grace, to live and walk in it. “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:10 KJV).  As we do this, we must also do it with heart, soul, and body. All these parts of our being must be ready and willing for us to love fully.  This is in line with the word of God that says, “And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might” (Deuteronomy 6:5 KJV). 

The importance of self-love cannot be overstated.  The word of God says, “And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself” (Matthew 22:39 KJV).  This is saying we must treat others the same way we will treat ourselves.  If I am the type who does not see any good in myself, it will be hard for me to see any good in others.  If I do not know or understand God’s purpose for me, it will be a stretch for me to know or understand God’s purpose for other people.  If I do not know or understand what to do to improve myself or to be in line with God’s will for me, it is far-fetched to think that I will know what others should do to improve themselves so they can be in line with God’s will for them.  If I am the type who will always take actions that are destructive for my life, what kind of love would I be able to show to other people?

As mentioned before, what we often engage in, which can be considered as self-indulgence or debauchery, is not self-love.  The feeling of ‘I am better than my neighbor’ is not self-love; the need for attention that indicates a level of self-importance is not love.  Overpampering of oneself just because we can, is not self-love. To be clear, the idea here is not to say that you should not pamper yourself, but that this action should not be mistaken as self-love.  Loving myself is to know myself, understand myself, care for myself body soul and mind, and work as hard as possible to be an agent of growth for myself so I can fulfill the calling of my faith.  We must also let the word of God in 1 Corinthians 13 be part of our guide when it comes to loving oneself.  Be patient with yourself, be kind to yourself, do not dishonor yourself, do not be easily angered with yourself, do not keep records of your own wrong doing, always seek the truth, and be sure to protect yourself, be hopeful, and persevere.  That is what is means to love yourself.  Now, can you find it in your heart to do that for your neighbors too?

It is interesting to note how people often engage in the right thing but for the wrong reason. It happens all around all the time.  Two biblical examples come to mind.  First was from Paul’s letter to the Philippians in Philippians 1:15-17: “It is true that some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, but others out of goodwill. The latter do so out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. The former preach Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing that they can stir up trouble for me while I am in chains.” Interesting how Paul says here that those who preach the gospel out of goodwill also do it out of love, while the others do it for the wrong reason.  This is a pointer to the essentiality of love.  It is important that our actions be accompanied with love for them to be meaningful.  The second example where Apostle Paul was very explicit with this message is in 1 Corinthians 13:1-3. The message started from 1 Corinthians 12 where he was talking about spiritual gifts. 

Many in Corinth were misusing the gifts and many others had a different understanding of what the gifts were about, so they not only clamored for the gifts they believed were more important than others, they also used the gifts to oppress others. They used their spiritual gifts as weapons to fight and denigrate with, rather than tools to build with. So, Paul needed to teach them about the place of their gifts in the scheme of things.  In 1 Corinthians 12:31 he said, “Now eagerly desire the greater gifts. And yet I will show you the most excellent way.”  Meaning it is okay to desire the supposedly greater gifts, but there is a much better way.  The reason the Corinthians were clamoring for the greater gifts were for the wrong reasons; Paul wanted to show them the right reasons and he did this in 1 Corinthians 13.  

The right reason, according to Paul, is based on the essentiality of love.  To show how important love is, Paul describes the ministry of some of the more sought-after gifts without love.  This was because the problem in Corinth was not a lack of zeal, a lack of truth, a lack of volunteers, or a lack of giving; it is caused by an absence of love for people who are different from them, especially the difference between the rich and the poor. Whenever love is absent from a group or relationship what you have is an empty shell, lots of noise but no substance. This may be our marriages, our families, or our churches.  For the church, you can on the surface, have an appearance of health, growth, and success but be empty and weak if there is no love.  Paul said, “If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.  If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing” – 1 Corinthians 13:1-3.  Our services can be super electrified – otherwise known as “spiritual experiences”, great preaching, mountain-moving faith, even sacrificial giving.  Paul says when we do all these things without love, it amounts to nothing.  Someone can speak in every conceivable tongue, even that of angels, but without love, they also amount to nothing.

People of God, someone can preach great sermons, share the deepest understanding, and even demonstrate faith in impossible circumstances. Without love, Apostle Paul says, it is all worthless. Church or ministry members can give away everything they have; they can serve the poor and bless the orphans; they can even go as far as dying for Jesus; without love, all of these are worthless. We gain nothing if the motive for whatever sacrifice we give is pride or self-display. We are nothing without love.  Our Churches, without regards to how big, popular, or gifted, are nothing without love.  No matter how right we think we are in our attitudes, if we don’t have love, we are wrong. Love is priority one.  Love comes before all and love survives all. 

We Christians very often flaunt our ability to speak truth, but all truths that are devoid of love are nothing. Many times, we have heard people say they like to “call a spade a spade”.  In truth a spade will always be a spade, but we achieve nothing when we call a spade a spade when we do not pronounce it in love.  Our attitude matters.  How the spade is called a spade matters. Every intention of ours becomes balderdash if they are not accompanied with love.  In how we talk in our relationships, in our workplaces, and in our churches, love is essential.  In every facet of our lives, love is important.  Let us learn to love.  This is the time. Tomorrow may be too late.