Live Into Love by Barry Hughes


I didn’t even have to make it to the sidewalk on this day to be captured by this grouping of roses on one of my own rose bushes. The sunlight was at just the perfect angle and they literally glowed. I found myself drawn to them like Moses - someone commented that the two of us are looking more and more alike these days - was drawn to the bush that was ablaze but was not consumed. It did, if for just a Moment, seem like Holy ground.
Roses capture our imagination. “My love is like a red, red rose.” “A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” I am convinced that he had roses on his mind when Tennyson wrote, “If I had a flower for every time I thought of you, I could walk through my garden forever.” One of the songs from my childhood church referred to Jesus, the embodiment of God’s love, with the biblical image of the “ sweetest rose of Sharon.”
I am going to take some time today to think about love, that gift synonymous with roses. Why not join me? Think about the people you love. Think about the people that love you. Think about the gift of being loved. Think about the gift of loving another person. Perhaps we could think of someone who might feel low on love at this moment, in these days. Perhaps we could reach out and share some of our love with them.
The scriptures tell us that of all spiritual gifts, the greatest is love. They tell us that there is no greater love than to give our life for a friend. They tell us that God so loved the world. They tell us, ultimately, that God is love.
Our hearts tell us that all of this is true. As the great Nat King Cole sang, “The greatest thing you’ll ever learn is just to love and be loved in return.”
Live into love today.
Peace.

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