When other people do things that go against our beliefs they become very difficult to love.
And yet, Jesus tells us that loving others is what he expects of us. Love is the essence of our faith. It is to be unconditional, sacrificial and never ending.
But, let’s be honest, there are times when loving others is not easy. Shoot, with some folks it’s hard to get to “liking,” much less loving!
Take for example the story of the Berlin Wall that had just been erected in Germany in 1961. In the early days of the famous wall, hostilities flared when truckloads of stinking garbage were dumped from East Berlin into West Berlin. Many residents of West Berlin wrote to the mayor demanding revenge for this offense, but he responded in a unique way.
He asked the people to gather all the flowers in West Berlin and bring them to a certain place at the wall. Then as a great avalanche of beautiful and fragrant flowers was poured over the wall, a large banner was raised. Written on the banner were the words:
“WE GIVE EACH OTHER WHAT WE HAVE.”
No truer words were ever spoken, in Berlin or in our own lives:
“WE GIVE EACH OTHER WHAT WE HAVE.” – Garbage or Flowers!
