Rev. Ray and Pat Amos

1 John 4:20

“If you do not love your brother whom you can see, how can you love God whom you cannot see?”

“No man is an island,
Entire of itself,
Every man is a piece of the continent,
A part of the main…” -John Donne

My brother and sister I need you. We share the sky above, be it cloudy or sunny; and we share the earth below with those we know, and do not know. We are all made of the same clay, formed by the same hands, and loved by the same God, so why should I not want you as my friend?

The circumstances of our life do not define the eternal soul that we are. A silver spoon in our mouth or a crumb in hungry hands; neither of them are a sign of greater or lesser love. To whom much is given, much is required; and yet, a poor widow’s two mites had the attention of God. We are really all the same; it is only the situation that is different.

Have we forgotten the lesson of washing feet? Feet are all the same. It is the shoes, or no shoes, that are different: Some for comfort, some to impress; many have none at all. Feet bear the weight of life, and the scars of the path that we have to walk. If eyes are windows of the soul, then feet are a journal of where we have been; there are earth prints upon our feet.

How beautiful are the feet that bring good tidings; and the feet that have hurried our way with help and love. We need one another’s feet and hands, and head, and heart. There are two great laws to obey and then the world could be Heaven: Love God with our all, and our neighbor as ourselves. There are two great sins in this world that will surely bring hell: To not love God or neighbor; but only ourselves. “If you do not love your brother whom you can see, how can you love God whom you cannot see?” (1 John 4:20) We can’t halfway love.

I fear that we have learned too well how much others need us. That can turn into arrogance if not governed by meekness and humility. Perhaps what we haven’t learned so well is how much we need the love and hand of each other.

That is my heart for today, Grace and Peace, Rev Ray (2/15/2019)

“Link to YouTube Video – How Beautiful Are the Feet”