A Prayer

A Prayer

About Love

April 2008

Lord, we would never intentionally do evil. We want to do what is good, true, and right. However, it is sometimes hard for us to know what to do. We start out with good intentions, but we wind up doing the wrong thing or saying the wrong thing.

In our desire to help, we do things when we would be better off doing nothing. Then we do this and discover later that we should have done that. In this world, we shall never be free from such misjudgments and errors.

We know also, Lord, that you have called us to live here, and to live in fellowship with one another.

Above all, you have called us to live in love with one another. Without love, nothing we do has much value, but when we act in love, all our works and efforts are ennobled and uplifted. Anything done in love, be it ever so small and trivial, bears good fruit in that you, our great and loving Lord, see our love and consider our love as part of the deed.

That is not to say that we should act foolishly. We need all our reason and all our intelligence to apply our love. We need to act carefully, thoughtfully, prudently.

Still, love is the essential thing. You weigh our love, Lord, in what we do as much as you weigh what we do. And when we act in love, we do far more than we think.

Often Christians are unaware of the impact of their loving deeds on others. We may think that nobody sees, nobody cares, about what we do, but not so. Many people notice far more than we think, and appreciate our kindness and love.

And you notice, Lord. That is what matters most. You notice every deed, every thought, and every word. If we seek a reward for loving others, ultimately we find that reward in you, Lord.

However, we know, Lord, that often what we call love is just a screen for doing our own will. We sometimes seek to justify ourselves by covering our selfish actions with a facade of loving words.

Politicians claim that they are acting for the common good when they only act out of ambitious greed. Parents try to achieve their ambitions through their own children and call that love.

To a certain degree, our sinfulness mars our love. Our self-interest is seldom totally absent from any loving thing we do. Forgive us our folly, Lord. And help us to love better, to love more.

We pray in the name of the one who loved us to the uttermost, in the Name of Jesus, Amen.

If you have questions or comments, email Tony Grant

Last Modified: 01/14/08