Love Can Turn the World
Have you ever wondered why penguins don’t freeze to death? They have to cope with an immensely harsh environment with extreme cold temperatures and added wind chill.
Penguins and other animals who live in cold countries tend to have several special adaptations that keep them warm. Penguins living in cold climates stay warm thanks to their thick feathers and blubber under the skin. Feathers are great on land, but not much help for keeping warm in the cold ocean. This is where the blubber layer comes in.
Penguins stand up and rock backwards on their heels to reduce contact with the cold snow. If they were to lie down, they would get much colder very quickly.
To survive frigid temperatures, emperor penguins all converge on the same central point and begin to form a huddle. As those on the outside take the brunt of the cold, those on the inside take tiny steps that move the huddle in waves. The pack continues to shift and rotate from the center, so no one is left permanently in the cold.
In Luke 20:25-37 we find a beautiful story of love. Jesus is teaching his disciples, when a lawyer stands up and asks what he needs to do to inherit eternal life. Jesus answers by asking the man what the Bible says. The man replies that it states that he will love God with all of his heart and soul and love his neighbour as he loves himself.
Jesus tells him this is the right answer. The man then asks: Who is my ‘neighbour’?
Jesus then tells this story.
A man was once travelling from Jerusalem to Jericho when he was attacked by thieves who stole his clothes and injured him, leaving him half-dead. A Jewish priest came along; although he saw the man, he passed by on the other side of the road.
Next a Levite came along. He looked at the poor man, but he, too, walked on by on the other side of the road.
Then a Samaritan passed. When he saw that the man was in need of help, he had compassion on him. He got off his horse and bound up the injured man's wounds with oil and wine. Next, he put the man on his horse and led him to an inn, to take care of him.
The next day, the Samaritan has to leave the inn, but he gives the innkeeper two pence and asks him to make sure the injured man was well looked after. He also says that if the innkeeper needs to spend more money to look after the man, he, the Samaritan, will repay him when he returns.
Jesus asks his listeners: which of these was the true neighbour of the man who was attacked by thieves? The answer is the man who showed mercy and helped him in his time of need. He instructs his followers to follow the Samaritan’s example and help any person, regardless of their tribe or ethnic group, if they need a stranger’s help.
Love is the basis of godliness. Whatever the profession, no man has pure love for God unless he has unselfish love for his brother. But we can never come into possession of this spirit by trying to love others. What is needed is the love of Christ in the heart. When self is merged in Christ, love springs forth spontaneously. The completeness of Christian character is attained when the impulse to help and bless others springs constantly from within— when the sunshine of heaven fills the heart and is revealed in the countenance.
It is not possible for the heart in which Christ abides to be destitute of love. If we love God because He first loved us, we shall love all for whom Christ died. We cannot come in touch with divinity without coming in touch with humanity; for in Him who sits upon the throne of the universe, divinity and humanity are combined. Connected with Christ, we are connected with our fellow men by the golden links of the chain of love. Then the pity and compassion of Christ will be manifest in our life. We shall not wait to have the needy and unfortunate brought to us. We shall not need to be entreated to feel for the woes of others. It will be as natural for us to minister to the needy and suffering as it was for Christ to go about doing good.
And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near. - Hebrews 10:24-25 ESV
