“By this shall all men know that you are my disciples, if you love one another” (John 13:35).

“We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brethren.  He who does not love his brother abides in death” (I John 3:14).

You see those Christian people meeting in that little cluster there?  They’re a strange lot, aren’t they?  They have odd customs and their own language, and some can be perplexing.  Okay, I want you to love them.

You say it’s hard?  Friend, you don’t know the half of it.  But that’s what you’re going to be doing.

And when it happens, when you find yourself cherishing this oddest of people on the planet, that’s when you will know you are born again and destined for eternal life.

But not until then.

There is one way and one way only you are going to be able to love all Christian people.  You’re going to have to be born again.

You’re. Going. To. Have. To. Be. Born. Again.

Because you cannot do this in the flesh.

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Romance comes in all shapes and sizes.

Love does what it wishes and will not be confined to our formulae nor our fences.

The Hollywood slander is that only the young and beautiful fall in love, that somehow the plain and the aged are outside the bounds of this most wonderful experience in life. It’s a lie, of course, as is so much of what Hollywood peddles.

I’ve just finished David McCullough’s account of the settling of Ohio when it was the “far west” in the American experience.  The Pioneers: The Heroic Story of the Settlers Who Brought the American Ideal West is a slow read, one I had to make myself stay with.  Scattered throughout the story, however, were delightful episodes, worth the effort of reading the book.

Ephraim Cutler (1767-1853), one of the earliest settlers and a champion for a hundred reasons, was widowed at the age of 40.  The death of his wife left him with four  small children.  Interestingly, however, before her death,  Leah chose Ephraim’s next wife.  We will let McCullough tell the story…

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“Wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God” (Hebrews 11:16). 

Songwriter Robert Sherman was attending the birthday party for Will Durant, the 85-year-old who with his wife Ariel had recently produced the enormous set of volumes on The History of Civilization.  It was a feat of incredible magnitude for which they had won all kinds of awards.

One month earlier, Sherman had spent several hours with Dr. Durant during which they discussed literature and film.  But now, in the crowded reception, Durant just cannot place Sherman.  He knows he’s supposed to know him, but cannot get beyond that.

Know the feeling? I sure do.

Bob Sherman said Will Durant would stare, smile, and try to make the connection. You could almost see the wheels turning in his head.

Finally, Durant said, “It’s good of you to come.  It’s been a long time since I have seen you.  Too long.”

Sherman, relating this story in Moose: Chapters from my Life, called Durant’s words  “an all purpose statement.”

And Sherman understands the problem.  The older we get, the more prone we are to forgetfulness.

Do you have a similar story?  Here is one of mine.

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“Love your enemies.”  (Matthew 5:44 and Luke 6:27),

“Father, forgive them.  They know not what they do” (Luke 23:34).

This article is in two parts.  The first part is an illustration of the principle; the second part explains the revolutionary principle from our Lord.

Part One. 

He sat on the upper deck of the United States warship Missouri and watched the so-called Peace Proceedings that put an end to the Second World War in the Pacific.  General Douglas MacArthur, representing the United States, said something which brought a sneer to his lips.

Let us pray that peace be now restored to the world and that God will preserve it always.”

Fuchida’s historian writes: “Fuchida listened skeptically.  He had doubted his own emperor when he spoke of everlasting peace, and he didn’t believe the general now.  no, he thought, you are wrong, MacArthur. Peace isn’t coming to the world.  more trouble is coming.”

Mitsuo Fuchida knew that war is the natural state of mankind. People are selfish, and their interests conflict. As long as people have lived on earth, there have been wars, and there will be wars until the end.  It’s natural and normal.  There’s no way to end it.

Then one day months after the war’s end, Fuchida was talking to some former POWs who had just returned from internment in the United States. That’s when he began hearing of another way.

Some of those imprisoned in the U.S. told of a young American social worker named Peggy Covell who had been so kind to them, even though the Japanese were her sworn enemies

On one occasion, Fuchida learned the reason for her kindnesses.

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