I have been thinking a lot about Easter. Nothing helps one think about Easter more than having to give a lesson in Relief Society on the subject of charity. Since I always learn more than any of my victims do, I once again was blessed with a thought-provoking epiphany. I love epiphanies! They just keep me floating through life for long periods of time.
This one was triggered by Elder C. Max Caldwell. He says that love comes in three forms:
Love for the Savior
Love from the Savior
Love like the Savior
As I read this, I realized that what it says is that:
Love for the Savior is FAITH.
Love from the Savior is HOPE.
Love like the Savior is CHARITY.
"And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity." (I Cor. 13:13) Why is charity the greatest? Because charity is righteousness. It is purity. It is sanctification.
Elder Dallin H. Oaks said:
The reason charity never fails and the reason charity is greater than even the most significant acts of goodness...is that...charity is not an act but a condition or state of being. Charity is something one becomes.
The path to charity is the path to perfection. It's our whole earthly purpose! We begin with faith, then we feel hope and finally, we have charity.
So, what does this have to do with Easter? Everything.
Wherefore, my beloved brethren, pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart, that ye may be filled with this love, which he hath bestowed upon all who are true followers of his Son, Jesus Christ; that ye may become the sons of God; that when he shall appear we
5 comments:
Loved this post. I'm going to copy it and put it with my RS stuff for a lesson sometime. I seem to always want to teach about charity and visiting teaching.....so this will be a great idea to use. Thanks for sharing.
Love the blog. Love the message. If I could write like you can write, I would throw myself off of the train. So I will just keep my journal and punish only my children to read it after I am gone. Happy Blogging!
I love this post! May I use it, too?
Now I just have to remember to read your blog...
Keep up the good work.
Thanks for sharing your gift!
Ooh, ooh! I have to share something I just noticed recently about that verse on charity: The GRAMMAR! It's not that we're blessed for *possessing* charity, but rather for being possessed of it. That is a rather difficult concept, really - letting go of our self-concern enough to simply be agents of pure love. We're not in control of the agenda. It's honestly kind of a frightening thing to do, as a human being, LOL, but it's totally in keeping with the "not my will, but Thine" approach for which we're all striving. And reflecting on a couple instances in my life where I know I've felt it distinctly, that approach is soundly validated.
Anyway, that occurred to me during our charity lesson, and I had to share it, since examining the grammar (Hi, my name is Krista, and I'm a total geek...) led to such a powerful difference in my understanding of how we "acquire" charity... thanks for posting such interesting thoughts! :)
Well said, Krista!
Thanks to all for your encouragement!
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