"A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another." (John 13:34)
"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 neighbor as thyself." (Matthew 22:37-39)
"But behold I say unto you, love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them who despitefully use you and persecute you;" (3 Nephi 12:44)
In order to use my bad mood (likely caused by lack of food, or just my bad attitude) in a somewhat productive manner, I've decided to write about love. Because clearly, I need to be better at showing love to others and recognizing acts of love in my own life.
I love the scriptures. I'm so grateful for the Bible, the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine & Covenants, and the words of prophets which remind me of the perfect love Christ has for me, and for all of us. I definitely need it, especially when it feels like there is no other person in this city, state, time zone, planet, who loves me. We all feel that way sometimes, but what an indescribably wonderful feeling it is to know that there is someone out there who loves us no matter what! No matter what ridiculous thing we did or what trivial little something made us angry, He still loves us. I've never appreciated this idea nearly as much until getting out on my own a little bit.
Elder Neal A. Maxwell once said "Empathy during agony is a portion of divinity." I love this quote. I'm inspired by the people of whom I hear who, even in sickness, old age, or humble living conditions, go out of their way to help others.
A person comes to mind (we'll call him Jake (J is my favorite letter, fun fact.)) who has been more difficult to love than anyone else I have ever met, ever. This past week, I've made an active effort to cultivate Christlike love for this person because even if I don't like him, I still have to love him. So, like the scripture in 3 Nephi (and Luke 6) says, I prayed every day for something specific for Jake. I also thought of good qualities he does have and tried to focus on those instead of the ones that were more difficult to handle. Unfortunately, the Lord decided that it would take more than a week for me to really love this guy. Imagine that, having to work to change the way I feel. Every time I see him around (a couple times a week, even), I'm even more inclined to not like him. That's not supposed to happen! But I know God wants me to learn and grow, and putting someone in my life who frustrates me immensely is giving me an opportunity for me to learn, grow, and become better! It's an awesome blessing that I'm really trying to appreciate, even amidst this trial.
Love is so great. Probably the best feeling in the world. Even though there are countless levels and types of love, all the ones I've experienced have been incredible. I so enjoy seeing people reach out to strengthen or help others, whether it be tirelessly working with them, or just giving a hug. Thanks to God's infinite wisdom, with something so great as love accessible to us, we have equal access to the opposite.
"For it must needs be that there is opposition in all things..." (2 Nephi 2:11)
Enter anger. Malice. Hatred. Malcontent. (Insert negative emotion here). Isn't this fun? Or not. While life is meant to be enjoyed by all means, we enjoy it more having experienced more of the good-bad spectrum than sunshine and rainbows. So even today as I'm resenting how Jake makes me feel, there is so much great for which to be thankful! The important thing to remember, the thing that is the foundation of the gospel of Jesus Christ, is that we have the privilege and ability and commandment to love and serve others, even when we'd just soon never have to interact with them. After all, Christ set the perfect example for us to do just that. He even healed one of his captors after suffering in Gethsemane, on the way to be taken to court and ultimately be crucified.
Nothing in my life is remotely that difficult. Even just thinking about how great I do have it, I cannot help but try harder to love everyone, from the homeless man on the street to the girl who seems to have it all together but really needs a friend, to Jake.
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