I have two daughters. Fiona is almost four and Rowan is two and a half. They share a room upstairs together. Fiona sleeps against one wall. Rowan sleeps across the room against the far wall. Rowan pronounces her sister's name as "Yona."
Rowan called out last night at about 4:30 a.m. "Yona? Yona?"
Silence in the dark room.
"Yona? Yona? I can't hear you Yona!"
"What Rowan?" her sister replied in a soft sleepy voice.
"I love you Yona."
"I love you too," Fiona replied.
Then it was quiet again.
I lay in bed thinking about the sweet, gentle, yet urgent proclamation of love that I'd just heard. At that moment, the most important thing in Rowan's world was telling her sister that she loved her. It couldn't wait until morning. The message was too important.
The world is full of spiritual traditions and philosophies, but they are only an accurate reflection of the Divine when rooted in love. For Christians, the first letter of John provides the clearest statement of this. "God is love, and whoever remains in love remains in God and God in him." 1 John 4:16. And the inverse, "Whoever is without love does not know God, for God is love." 1 John 4:8.
In a confusing world with challenging ethical and emotional problems, Jesus's simple message to "love one another" can be very hard to follow. John 15:17
When confused or lost, it's time to follow Rowan's example and make a simple, gentle, and urgent expression of love for another. It's our most essential task.
NOTE: Please check out the Looking for Answers Through Dirty Glasses book. It's available on Amazon. The Kindle version is free if you have Amazon Prime.
Rowan called out last night at about 4:30 a.m. "Yona? Yona?"
Silence in the dark room.
"Yona? Yona? I can't hear you Yona!"
"What Rowan?" her sister replied in a soft sleepy voice.
"I love you Yona."
"I love you too," Fiona replied.
Then it was quiet again.
I lay in bed thinking about the sweet, gentle, yet urgent proclamation of love that I'd just heard. At that moment, the most important thing in Rowan's world was telling her sister that she loved her. It couldn't wait until morning. The message was too important.
The world is full of spiritual traditions and philosophies, but they are only an accurate reflection of the Divine when rooted in love. For Christians, the first letter of John provides the clearest statement of this. "God is love, and whoever remains in love remains in God and God in him." 1 John 4:16. And the inverse, "Whoever is without love does not know God, for God is love." 1 John 4:8.
In a confusing world with challenging ethical and emotional problems, Jesus's simple message to "love one another" can be very hard to follow. John 15:17
When confused or lost, it's time to follow Rowan's example and make a simple, gentle, and urgent expression of love for another. It's our most essential task.
NOTE: Please check out the Looking for Answers Through Dirty Glasses book. It's available on Amazon. The Kindle version is free if you have Amazon Prime.
