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Christ Healing the Sick at the Pool of Bethesda, by Carl Heinrich Bloch
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The Savior’s Love
The importance of
demonstrating daily a true and an abiding love was convincingly taught by the
Master when the inquiring lawyer stepped forward and boldly asked Him, “Master,
which is the great commandment in the law?”
Matthew records that
“Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and
with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
“This is the first and
great commandment.
“And the second is
like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.”1
Mark concludes the
account with the Savior’s statement, “There is none other commandment greater
than these.” 2
His answer could not
be faulted. His very actions gave credence to His words. He demonstrated
genuine love of God by living the perfect life, by honoring the sacred mission
that was His. Never was He haughty. Never was He puffed up with pride. Never
was He disloyal. Ever was He humble. Ever was He sincere. Ever was He true.
Though He was led up
of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by that master of deceit, even
the devil; though He was physically weakened from fasting 40 days and 40 nights
and was an hungered; yet when the evil one proffered Jesus the most alluring
and tempting proposals, He gave to us a divine example of true love of God by
refusing to deviate from what He knew was right. 3
Jesus, throughout His
ministry, blessed the sick, restored sight to the blind, made the deaf to hear
and the maimed to walk. He taughtforgiveness by forgiving. He taught
compassion by being compassionate. He taught devotion by giving of Himself.
Jesus taught by example.
As we survey the life
of our Lord, each of us could echo the words of the well-known hymn:
I stand all amazed at the love Jesus offers me,
Confused at the grace that so fully he proffers me.
I tremble to know that for me he was crucified,
That for me, a sinner, he
suffered, he bled and died. 4
Showing Our Love
To demonstrate our gratitude,
is it required that we too lay down our lives as did He? Some have.
In the beautiful city
of Melbourne, Australia, there is situated in an impressive setting a historic
war memorial. As one walks through the memorial’s silent corridors, one sees
tablets of marble that note the deeds of valor and acts of courage of those who
made the supreme sacrifice. One can almost hear the roar of the cannon, the
scream of the rocket, the cry of the wounded. One can feel the exhilaration of
victory and, at the same time, sense the despair of defeat.
In the center of the
main hall, inscribed for all to see, is the message of the memorial. The
skylight overhead permits easy reading. The words almost stand up and speak:
“Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his
friends.” 5
Today, the challenge
which we face and must meet is not that we should go forth on the battlefield
of war and lay down our lives. Rather, it is that we, on the battlefield of
life, so live and serve that our lives and actions reflect a true love of God, of
His Son, Jesus
Christ, and of our fellowmen. This is not accomplished by clever
signs printed on bumper stickers affixed to automobiles.
Jesus teaches each of
us: “If ye love me, keep my commandments. …
“He that hath my
commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me
shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to
him.” 6
The above is an excerpt from an address
given by Thomas S. Monson. For the full
text click here:
Notes
