Not far from where my owner lives, a human has painted some graffiti onto a bridge which goes across an important road. Now, as a parrot with impeccable taste, I usually loathe graffiti because it just makes a mess of things that are already drab and dreary. But this piece of graffiti is rather different; yes, it’s been painted up in neatly whitewashed letters, and reads, quite simply: “Love is the Answer.” And if you were to ask me, ‘the answer to what?’ I would reply: “It’s the answer to everything!”
You see, in the world in which we live, both hatred and evil fuel each other. But if you encase them with pure love, then they cannot burn for very long, and will eventually be doused. It’s much the same as putting water onto a fire.
Too many humans take for granted the fact that both God and Jesus are a force of love. Imagine what our world would be like if they were something completely different. A world with no love would be a world with no joy and a world with no hope. It would be unbearable.
There’s a lot of love in my family, and I’m a part of that. I receive love and I return love. And when I do something that I shouldn’t, I know that I will always be forgiven and that I will always be loved despite my faults. And that is how it is between God and all of His creation. Love envelops our sinful natures and makes us whole again. And I reckon that the human that painted up that graffiti had experienced a moment of epiphany. In just four short words, they had revealed the answer to all of the world’s problems and suffering and provided a pointer as to how things could be. Yes, Love is the Answer. It always was and it always will be. And that’s why the word ‘love’ appears between 500 and 600 times in most English translations of the Bible. And it’s why yours truly lives a happy life!
“Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.” (Martin Luther King Jr: [1929-1968]: American Baptist Minister and civil rights campaigner up until his assassination).
“Love is the only force capable of transforming an enemy into a friend.” (Martin Luther King Jr: As above).
The hunger for love is much more difficult to remove than the hunger for bread.”
(Mother Teresa: [1910-1997]: Catholic nun of Albanian descent who dedicated her life to helping the sick and needy of Calcutta, India and beyond).
“To love someone means to see him as God intended him.”
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