God lives and works today.
He is almighty and all-powerful, and the
source of His power is His great love.
The same holds true for us.
Today's meditation by Vasilija Shlink shares the true
story of how one man made this exciting
and earnest discovery.
Sadhu Sundar Singh, a great man of God
from India, was once on a trip to
the wasteland of Tibet.
An icy north wind brushed across the heights,
destroying every living thing.
When Sadhu and his Tibetan traveling companion turned
the corner around a projected rock, they found
a man lying on the ground, unconscious, half
frozen to death.
Sadhu, knelt down by the unfortunate man, examined
him and suggested to his companion that they
carry the man on to the next shelter.
But the Tibetan refused.
He said that they would be lucky to
reach the next village at all in this
terrible weather.
And so he went away.
After great trouble, Sadhu succeeded in getting the
poor man onto his back.
Slowly and pantingly he made progress.
Soon he no longer felt the icy cold.
On the contrary, because of the strain, streams
of sweat ran down from his forehead.
Then a wonderful thing happened.
Through the continual contact with this warm body,
life returned into the body of the half
-dead man on Sadhu's shoulders.
Sadhu Sundar Singh's heart became filled with joy
and thanksgiving.
The brother was alive.
With new courage he struggled on with his
burden.
And suddenly he saw something lying in front
of him on the path.
What was it?
He came closer.
It was his Tibetan companion who had become
tired and sat down for a moment when
he had frozen to death only a few
minutes away from the village.
This story has a message for us today.
The apostle Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians
chapter 13 that no matter how great or
gifted we are, we don't gain anything if
we don't have love.
One day we'll be judged according to these
words in eternity.
Our egoism and self-love is dangerous, yes,
deadly.
This is what the mountain death of Sadhu's
traveling companion so clearly shows us.
But if we would take the other person
with his burden upon our shoulders, that would
save his life and ours too.
It would enrich our lives and make us
happy.
Nothing can make us happier than love.
This kind of love, however, doesn't just happen.
Not one of us can attain it through
our own efforts.
But Jesus, the victor and redeemer, wants to
fill us with his love.
He wants to be the redeemer over all
hard-heartedness and selfishness and self-love.
If we bring him our failures and claim
his victory over and over again in faith,
he will pour his love into our hearts.
Yes, Jesus gladly answers the prayer for love
because he wants us to radiate his love
to all the world.