We learn how to love from those who have gone before us. Mother Teresa said, "It is not how much we do, but how much love we put in the doing." Saint Teresa of Calcutta continued, "It is not how much we give, but how much love is put in the giving." At times I've considered what it looks like when much love is put in the giving. I've also wondered how we know how much love we're putting into what we're giving.
Recently I realized that the answer to these questions had been given decades ago. In high school my classmates and I learned about putting love into what one does. One day we were taught that hungry, vanquished Confederate soldiers were treated kindly by a victor in the Civil War. Looking at the defeated southerners, the northerner told those under his command, "Get these men food and blankets."
Love your enemies.* Do good to those who hate you,** who want to kill you. If your enemy is hungry, feed him.*** Even when you've just supposedly won a war, tenderly treat the person in front of you, who is in dire need. See the broken individuals in front of you and treat their wounds, filling them up with what they need. Love your neighbors**** in such a way so they are sure of your love.
In history class in high school, we heard of this merciful combatant of the Civil War. As our United States History teacher, Mr. Bill Street, related the tale of this compassionate member of the Union Army, he conveyed the story with such emotion that his voice broke. As he told us of the clemency shown to the beaten Confederates, he showed us his profound concern for his fellow humans as he nearly began weeping.
Mr. Bill Street will weep no more. Earlier this month he passed away. As I have remembered him, again came the memory of the compassion shown by the apparent victor in war. Once again I was struck with how our much beloved history teacher told us that story with love, such that he not only felt deeply as he recounted it, but he went further, sharing his tender feelings with us. He let us see his vulnerability.
As we make ourselves more vulnerable, we show more love. The less concerned we are with how we look, then the less we think unnecessarily about ourselves, and the more we turn our attention to our neighbor. As we forget ourselves, we put more love into what we give. Selflessness yields love. When we die to ourselves, we are born into love as we live for our neighbor. As we die, we are born into new life.
* Matthew 5:44; Luke 6:27
** Luke 6:27
*** Proverbs 25:21; Romans 12:20
**** Leviticus 19:18; Matthew 22:39; Mark 12:31; Luke 10:27; Romans 13:9; Galatians 5:14
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