SHE GAVE HER LIFE FOR HIM James Hewett, Illustrations Unlimited, 1988, 324
This is supposed to be a true story from the time of Oliver Cromwell in England. A young soldier had been tried in military court and sentenced to death. He was to be shot at the "ringing of the curfew bell." His fiancée climbed up into the bell tower. several hours before curfew time and tied herself to bell's huge clapper. At curfew time, when only muted sounds came out of the bell tower, Cromwell demanded to know why the bell was not ringing. His soldiers went o investigate and found the young woman cut and bleeding from being knocked back and forth against the great bell. They brought her down, and, the story goes, Cromwell so impressed with her willingness to suffer in this way on the behalf of someone she loved that he dismissed the soldier saying, "Curfew shall not ring tonight."
In this same way disciples are called to keep the death toll from ringing. In doing so they are made poor, they go hungry, they shed many tears, and generally speaking they are hated and called evil

QUOTE: For teenagers in love talking together in the car, an hour or two seems like a blink of an eye. But for mom & dad worrying about what’s going on out in that car, an hour or two seems like an eternity.

YOUTH SPEAK OUT ON LOVE Brian Mavis

Questions about love, marriage and sex were posed to kids ages 5 to 10. Here
are a few of their responses:

WHAT IS THE PROPER AGE TO GET MARRIED? (Judy, 8) "Eight-four. Because at that age, you don't have to work anymore, and you can spend all your time loving each other in your bedroom."

WHEN IS IT OK TO KISS SOMEONE? (Jim, 10) "You should never kiss a girl unless you have enough bucks to buy her a ring and her own VCR, 'cause she'll want to have videos of the wedding."

HOW CAN PEOPLE MAKE LOVE LAST? (Roger, 8) "Don't forget your wife's name. That will mess up the love."

QUOTE: Hopeless romantics: 85% of 18 to 24 year olds say that every person has a "perfect match." - 1995

QUOTE: Hopeless Romantics: 40% of Americans say they believe in love at first sight. The Best of Uncle John's Bathroom Reader

QUOTE: Love is not blind. Love is the only thing that sees. Frank Crane

GETTING INVOLVED Marbury E. Anderson in James W. Cox, The Minister's Manual: 1985, New York: Harper & Row, 1984, p. 149
To simply remain a bystander, occasionally putting in a good word for love, is not sufficient. Only when we are actually involved in life's experiences does our love come alive. God's
love involved him in the mess of the world. To use a common expression, "He got his hands dirty." We too must suffer the pain of love and expect to pay the price.
Contrary to the sentiments expressed so often when we say "I love you," love isn't simply passion, affection, close ties, and friendship. It is more accurately described by words like
unconditional and sacrificial. They take us beyond a view of love as easy and natural. Love causes pain, and we by nature back away from pain. Love requires that we sacrifice, and we by
nature avoid such sacrifice. Love demands an unconditional commitment, and we by nature fear committing ourselves so completely. Love exposes our fragile natures.

THE LOVE THAT CONQUERS THE WORLD Frederick Buechner The Magnificent Defeat

The love for equals is a human thing--of friend for friend, brother for brother. It is to love what is loving and lovely. The world smiles.
The love for the less fortunate is a beautiful thing--the love for those who suffer, for those who are poor, the sick, the failures, the unlovely. This is compassion, and it touches the heart of the world.
The love for the more fortunate is a rare thing--to love those who succeed where we fail, to rejoice without envy with those who rejoice, the love of the poor for the rich, of the black man
for the white man. The world is always bewildered by its saints.
And then there is the love for the enemy--love for the one who does not love you but mocks, threatens, and inflicts pain. The tortured's love for the torturer. This is God's love. It conquers the world.

THE MAN WHO'D DIE FOR HER from sermon The Love of God John Redpath, Abingdon Press, 1979

On the southern border of the empire of Cyrus, there lived a great chieftain named Cagular who tore to shreds and completely defeated the various detachments of Cyrus' army sent to subdue him. Finally the emperor, amassing his whole army, marched down, surrounded Cagular, captured him, and brought him to the capital for execution. On the day of the trial, he and his family were brought to the judgment chamber - Cagular, a fine looking man of more than 6 feet, with a noble manner about him - a magnificent specimen of a man. So impressed was Cyrus with his appearance, that he said to Cagular: "What would you do should I spare your life?"

"Your Majesty, if you spared my life, I would return to my home and remain your obedient servant as long as I lived."

"What would you do if I spared the life of your wife?"

"Your Majesty, if you spared the life of my wife, I would die for you."

So moved was the emperor that he freed them both and returned Cagular to his province to act as governor thereof. Upon arriving at home, Cagular reminisced about the trip with his wife. "Did you notice," he said to his wife, "the marble at the entrance of the palace? Did you notice the tapestry on the wall as we went down the corridor into the throne room? And did you see the chair on which the emperor sat? It must have been carved from one lump of pure gold."

His wife could appreciate his excitement and how impressed he was with it all, but she only replied: "I really didn't notice any of that."
"Well," said Cagular in amazement, "What did you see?"

His wife looked seriously into his eyes and said, "I beheld only the face of the man who said he would die for me."

Helen Keller, who completely lost her sight and hearing at 19 months from a severe infection, tells how she learned the meaning of love from Ann Sullivan, her teacher, who was half blind herself. Helen tells about their 1^st meeting 3 months before she was 7 years old. "The morning after my teacher came she led me into her room and gave me a doll… When I had played with it a little while, Miss Sullivan slowly spelled into my hand the word, D-O-L-L. I was excited when I finally spelled the word myself. And I ran downstairs to show my mother."

Several days later, Helen tells how Miss Sullivan pumped cold water on her hand and spelled out water on her hand and spelled out W-A-T-E-R. After learning to spell hundreds of words, one day Miss Sullivan spelled out he word, L-O-V-E in Helen’s hand. Perplexed, Helen spelled back, "W-H-A-T I-S L-O-V-E?"

Poem: NO REGRETS?
If I knew it would be the last time
that I'd see you fall asleep,
I would tuck you in more tightly
and pray the Lord, your soul to keep.

If I knew it would be the last time
that I see you walk out the door,
I would give you a hug and kiss
and call you back for one more.

If I knew it would be the last time
I'd hear your voice lifted up in praise,
I would video tape each action and word,
so I could play them back day after day.

If I knew it would be the last time,
I could spare an extra minute or two
to stop and say "I love you,"
instead of assuming you would KNOW I do

If I knew it would be the last time
I would be there to share your day,
well I'm sure you'll have so many more,
so I can let just this one slip away.

For surely there's always tomorrow
to make up for an oversight,
and we always get a second chance
to make everything right.

There will always be another day
to say our "I love you's",
And certainly there's another chance
to say our "Anything I can do's?"

But just in case I might be wrong,
and today is all I get,
I'd like to say how much I love you
and I hope we never forget,

Tomorrow is not promised to anyone,
young or old alike,
And today may be the last chance
you get to hold your loved one tight

So if you're waiting for tomorrow,
why not do it today?
For if tomorrow never comes,
you'll surely regret the day,

That you didn't take that extra time
for a smile, a hug, or a kiss
and you were too busy to grant someone,
what turned out to be their one last wish.

So hold your loved ones close today,
and whisper in their ear,
that you love them very much and
you'll always hold them dear.

Take time to say "I'm sorry," "Please forgive me,"
"thank you," or "its okay".
And if tomorrow never comes,
you'll have no regrets about today

THAT SPECIAL SOME ONE IN YORE LIFE!!!!! Subject: A Redneck Love Poem

Collards is green my dog's name is Blue

and I'm so lucky to have a sweet thang like you.

Yore hair is like cornsilk a-flappin in the breeze

softer that Blue's but without all them fleas.

You move like the bass that excite me in May

You ain't got no scales but I love you anyway.

Yore as satisfyin' as okry jist a fryin' in the pan

Yore as fragrant as snuff straight outta the can!

You have some'a yore teeth for which I am proud

I hold my head high when we're in a big crowd

On spayshul occasions when you shave under yore arms

well, I'm in hawg heavun and awed by yore charms.

Still them fellers at work they all want to know

what I did to deserve such a purdy, young doe.

Like a good roll'a duct tape yore there for yore man

to patch up life's trubles and fix what you can.

Yore as cute as a junebug a-buzzin' overhead

you ain't mean like those ants I keep finding in bed.

Cut from the best cloth like a plaid flannel shirt

you spark up my life more than a fresh load'a dirt.

When you hold me real tight like a padded gun rack

my life is complete ain't nuttin' I lack.

yore complection, it's perfection like the best vinyl sidin'

despite all the years yore age, it keeps hidin'

Me n' you's like a moonpie and a RC cold drank

we go together like a skunk goes with stank.

Some men, they buy chocolate for Valentines Day

they git it at Wal-Mart it's romantic that way.

Some men git roses on that spayshul day

from the cooler at Krogers "That's impressive", I say.

Some men buy fine diamonds from a flea market booth

"Diamonds are forever" they explain, all suave and so couth!

But for this man, darlin' these just won't do

cause yore too spayshul, you sweet thang you!

I got you a gift without taste or odor

more useful than diamonds It's a brand~new TROLLING MOTOR!

I CAN’T REMEMBER WHICH ONE YOU WERE
Maybe you heard about the Desert Storm soldier who while he was overseas received a Dear John letter from his girlfriend back home in the states. To add insult to injury, she wrote, "Will you please return my favorite photograph of myself-- I need it for my engagement picture in the local newspaper."
The poor guy was devastated, but all the soldiers came to his rescue. They went throughout the entire camp and collected pictures of all the guys' girlfriends. They filled up an entire shoe box and sent it to the girl along with a note from the guy saying, "Please find your picture, and return the rest,---for the life of me, I can't remember which one you were!!"

HER REJECTION WROTE THE SONG

Albert L. Peace was a man in love. His fiancée was all he had ever wanted in a woman and they planned to soon be married. Then he encountered a problem that would crush all his plans. He was going blind. The woman he had loved and hoped to share his life with walked out of his life forever. She could not stand the possibility of living her life with a man whom she unquestionably would need to care for the rest of her life.

Albert was shattered. But in the midst of his tragedy he sought and found the love of One that he knew would not reject him. Taking pen in hand he composed the words of a long favored Christian hymn: "O Love That Will Not Let Me Go"

BALANCING TRUTH AND LOVE SE Leadership Conference May 1999

Truth without love is dogmatism

Love without truth is sentimentality

Only Truth spoken in Love is what is expected of a Christian.

QUOTE: Percentage of pet owners who would choose their pet as a companion over another human if stranded on a desert island: 54 – American Animal Hospital, cited in American Demographics (7/96)

HOLD HANDS DURING THE GAME R.Digest 11/97 p. 91

My husband and I were watching a football game on TV one Sunday. during a commercial I asked him if he had anything planned for the next night. When he said he intended to watch "Monday Night Football," I protested that it was our anniversary. "Okay," he said. "We'll hold hands while we watch the game."

After Lee Iacocca was fired as president of Ford, he noted: "I was hurting pretty bad. I could have used a phone call from someone who said 'Let's have coffee.' But most of my friends deserted me. It was the greatest shock of my life."

HOW MUCH MONEY DID SHE HAVE? Winifred Terret R.Digest 11/97 p. 97

My 9 year old niece bought me perfume. "This is one of my favorites," I told her. "How did you know what to buy?"

"The man in the shop helped," she replied.

"He did very well. Did he ask what I looked like, or what colors I like to wear, or how old I am?"

"No," she answered. "He asked me how much money I had."

A young girl had been born with a handicap - she was deaf in one ear. She had learned that if the other children knew of her disability, they often made fun of her and mocked her, so she developed ways of compensating for the hearing loss so that they wouldn't suspect.

Every year, the school held a simple hearing test. They would take the children out in the hallway one by one and have the child put their finger in one ear, while they whispered some nonsense statement in the other. Then the child was to repeat the phrase. Fearing that her secret would be exposed, the young girl always cheated on the test. Instead of covering her good ear, she pretended to put her finger in and then strained to hear the tester's phrase.

One year, the one giving the test knew of her disability and of her little trick and turned the test into a special lesson. The girl related later in life that the 7 simple words the teacher used changed her life and gave her the strength to face life's challenges. The teacher whispered: "I wish you were my little girl."

QUOTE: "Kissing: A means of getting 2 people so close together that they can't see anything wrong with each other." Rene Yasenek, quoted by "Dear Abby," Universal Press Syndicate.

THE HISTORY OF OUR ENEMIES Longfellow

If we would read the secret history of our enemies, we would find in each man's life sorrow and suffering enough to disarm all hostility.

A LITTLE JAM IS LOVING-KINDNESS Pulpit Helps 11/96 p. 8

The teacher asked the pupils to tell the meaning of loving-kindness. A little boy jumped up and said "Well, if I was hungry and someone gave me a piece of bread that would be kindness. But if they put a little jam on it, that would be loving-kindness."

NEED TO SAY YOU LOVE Leo Buscaglia from "Bus Nine to Paradise" (Slack)

A wife says to her husband (or vice versa), "Do you love me?"
"Of Course," he replies. "I've been married to you for 20 years, haven't I?"

How satisfied would we be if we presented someone with a vintage wine and, upon asking his opinion of it, he replied, "I'm drinking it, aren't I?"

Love still needs expression between those who share it.

KEEP THE HUG R.Digest 4/96 p. 240

One sweltering day, I was scooping ice cream into cones and told my 4 children they could "buy" a cone from me for a hug. Almost immediately, the kids lined up to make their purchases. The 3 youngest each gave me a quick hug, grabbed their cones and raced back outside. But when my teenage son at the end of the line finally got his turn to "buy" his ice cream, he gave two hugs. "Keep the change," he said with a smile.

LOVE FOR THE HUNCHBACK Bits and Pieces 9/15/94 p. 16

The German philosopher and scholar, Moses Mendelssohn (1729-86), was born a hunchback. Despite this deformity, which could have soured him on life forever, Mendelssohn achieved a maturity and wisdom few men ever do.

While on a trip to Hamburg as a young man, Mendelssohn met a rich merchant who had a beautiful, young daughter, Frumtje. The young man fell hopelessly in love with her. She too was mature beyond her years, and despite his obvious physical defect, she was attracted to his gentleness, his charm, and his brilliant mind.

Mendelssohn stayed several weeks in Hamburg, spending much of his time with this lovely girl he had fallen in love with at first sight. When it finally came time to leave, he worked up enough nerve to speak to her father. It was either that or lose her forever.

The rich and powerful merchant hesitated for a long time. Mendelssohn finally asked him to speak his thoughts frankly.

"Well," said the older man, "you are known throughout Germany as a most brilliant young man. And yet... I must tell you my child was a bit frightened when she first say you."

"Because I am a hunchback?"

Sadly, the merchant nodded.

Downcast, but not defeated, Mendelssohn asked only one last favor - the privilege of seeing her once more before he left. Admitted to her room, he found her busy with needlework. He spoke at first of various matters, then carefully and gradually, he led the conversation to the subject that was nearest to his heart. "Do you believe," he asked, "that marriages are made in heaven?"

"Yes," she said, "for that is our faith."

"And it is true," he said gently. "Now let me tell you about something strange that happened when I was born. As you know, at a child's birth, according to our tradition, they call out in heaven that the birth has occurred. And when it is a boy, they announce, 'Such and such boy will have this or that girl for a wife.'

"Well, there I was, just born, and I heard the name of my future wife announced. At the same time, I heart the great far off voice say, 'Unfortunately, the poor little girl, Frumtje, will have a terrible hump on her back.' Quick as a flash, I cried out, 'O Lord God, if a girl is hunchbacked, she will grow up bitter and hard. Please give her hump to me and let her develop into a well-formed lovely, and charming young lady.'"

Mendelssohn waited for her reaction. Slowly, Frumtje looked up. She dropped her needlework, rose, and approached him with arms outstretched.

The merchant gave his consent and they were soon married, living a long and fruitful life together.

BIDDING FROM THE HEART r.digest 1/96 p. 88

Katie Fisher 17, pulled her unruly lamb into the arena of the Madison County (Ohio) Junior Livestock Sale last July. With luck the lamb would fetch some spending money -and she wouldn't collapse as she had during another livestock show the day before.

Fisher had been battling Rurkitt's lymphoma, a fast-growing malignancy, since February. She had endured many hospitalizations and months of chemotherapy. "Sometimes, in the beginning, it hurt so bad all she could do was pace," said her 12-year-old sister Jessica.

Selling the lamb did raise pin money for Fisher.

"We sort of let folks know that Katie had a situation that wasn't too pleasant," said auctioneer Roger Wilson, who hoped his introduction would push the price-per-pound above the average of $2.

It did - and then some.

The lamb sold for $11.50 per pound. Then the buyer gave it back. That started a chain reaction. Families bought it and gave it back; businesses bought it and gave it back.

"The first sale is the only one I remember. After that, I was crying too hard," said Katie's mother, Jayne Fisher. "Everyone kept saying, 'Re-sell! Re-sell!"' We sold that lamb 36 times," said Wilson. And the last buyer gave back the lamb for good. The effort raised more than $16,000, which went into a fund to help pay Katie's medical expenses.

TOO MANY BOB'S AND TERI'S r.digest 1/96 p.12 Chuck Shepherd

Bob Bornack's billboard marriage proposal to Teri Ungar in Wood Dale, Ill., was accepted. ("Teri, Please Marry Me! Love, Bob.") However, the billboard company reported that ten other women named Teri, who were dating men named Bob, inquired whether the message was for them-including one Teri who was dating two men named Bob.

QUOTE: The reason a dog has so many friends is that he wags his tail instead of his tongue.

- The Bible Friend

LOVE AND PSYCHIATRY, PSYCHOLOGY, ETC.

You would think that the disciplines of psychiatry, psychology, anthropology, and sociology would throw light on this, the most basic of human concerns. A recent book in this field, however, indicates that this is not true. The authors write that "in spite of a few remarkable contributions, we can definitely state that love has not been the object of much psychological or psychiatric research.

Most of what we know about it comes either from our limited private experiences or from the insights that poets, novelists, playwrights, and artists have offered us. With rare exceptions, in the indexes of most psychoanalytic, psychiatric, and psychological books and textbooks we do not find an entry for the word love. And even such important cultural media as the Encyclopedia Britannica and the Columbia Encyclopedia has no articles about this subject."

Can you imagine that? The Encyclopedia Britannica has nothing to say about love. Surely it is not because modern man has mastered this complex subject.

Zig Ziglar shared recently about an experience his wife had making a deposit at a bank. "As you know, when tellers count the money, they really get after it. They pop those bills out so fast I am mystified as to how they know how many they have actually counted.

On this day as the teller was counting the money, she suddenly stopped reached out and picked up a $20 bill and said, ‘Mrs. Zigler, this is a counterfeit bill.’ The teller recognized the counterfeit instantly, because in most banks they will not let a teller even touch a counterfeit. That way when a counterfeit appears in a stack, the teller can instantly, without looking, tell the difference by the ‘feel.’

Yes, there is difference between real and counterfeit money, and there is a vast difference between real and counterfeit love. The counterfeit variety is often depicted on television and in dime-store novels. In an hour's encounter, boy meets girl, they go to dinner, establish a ‘meaningful relationship,’ fall madly in love and go to bed. They make every effort to depict this as the real thing, pointing out that there is nothing morally wrong with any facet of a relationship, providing it is 'meaningful.

PERSISTANT LOVER - 42 YEARS OF APPEAL Our Daily Bread

It took years before she finally said yes. A Welshman had fallen in love with one of his neighbors and wanted to marry her. But they had quarreled, and she refused to forgive him. Shy and reluctant to face the offended woman, the persistent suitor slipped a love letter under her door every week.

At last, after 42 years, he summoned up courage, knocked on her door, and asked her to become his wife. To his surprise and delight, she consented. So they were married at the age of 74! God is also a persistent lover.

WEARING DAD'S HAT AT BARCELONA Our Daily Bread

Amid the celebration, there was tragedy. It was the opening ceremonies of the 1992 summer Olympic Games in Barcelona. One by one the teams entered the stadium and paraded around the track to the cheers of 65,000 people. But in one section of Olympic Stadium, shock and sadness fell as Peter Karnaugh, father of United States swimmer Ron Karnaugh, was stricken with a fatal heart attack.

Five days later, Ron showed up for his race wearing his dad's hat, which he carefully set aside before his Competition began. Why the hat? It was the swimmer's tribute to his dad, whom he described as "my best friend." The hat was one his dad had worn when they went fishing and did other things together. Wearing the hat was Ron's way of honoring his dad for standing beside him, encouraging him, and guiding him. When Ron dove into the water, he did so without his dad's presence but with his dad's help.

LOVE HEALS HEART R.Digest 9/95 p. 147

In an Ohio State University study of newlyweds, couples who became angry and hostile when talking about their problems had higher blood pressure and heart rates than those who resolved conflicts with compassion and humor. Anger depressed both immune systems for up to 24 hours after a quarrel.

By contrast, a happy marriage can protect your health. In an Israeli study of 10,000 men, those at high risk heart disease were 20 times likelier to develop chest pains than men at low risk. But, mysteriously, some men who were fraught with medical problems (including high cholesterol, diabetes and high blood pressure) still didn't develop chest pains. Why not? One possible explanation emerged: They had loving, supportive wives.

Though I have taken three years of Greek and Hebrew, if I have not love, I am become a scholarly windbag. And though I teach a Sunday School class, and come to every Sunday evening service, and though I have missed only one week of visitation (when I had the flu), If I have not love, I am nothing.

And though I tithe every week, and always have my Bible study lesson done on time, and have driven the kids' Sunday School class to the lake once, and though I invited the preacher's family over for dinner last month, if I have not love, the whole thing means nothing.

LOVE keeps on loving when others don't love back.

LOVE doesn't get jealous when the next door neighbor can afford a BMW.

LOVE isn't rude to the persistent sales person.

LOVE is gracious when the line you have been standing in for an hour closes just as you reach the counter.

LOVE is not happy when your lazy partner at work finally gets laid off.

LOVE keeps on loving, even when embarrassed by your teenager's hair, music, or friends.

LOVE isn't thwarted by ten hours of screaming kids, soiled diapers, dirty dishes, and a perpetual mess in the living room.

And now abideth faith, hope, and love, these three; but the greatest of these is genuine LOVE that keeps on LOVING. . . because God did!

FAITH, HOPE, & LOVE Pulpit Helps 12/93 p. 12 James M. Boice Gospel of John, Vol. 1

One of the most memorable sermons that I have ever come across was preached by the late Emil Brunner at the Frumunster Kirche in Zurich, Switzerland. It was based on the phrase "faith, hope, and love." The points were these. Every man has a past, a present, and a future. Every man has a problem in his past, a problem in his present, and a problem in his future. The problem in our past is sin, but God has an answer to that problem. The answer is faith, faith in the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. The problem in our future is death, but God has an answer to the problem also. The answer to that problem is hope, hope in Christ's return based on the fact of His historical resurrection and His promises. The problem in our present is hate and God's answer to that problem is love. It is the love of Christ lived out in the lives of those who trust Him.

BOYS BALD FOR CLASSMATE 1994 OCEANSlDE, Calif. (AP)

In Mr. Alter's fifth-grade class. it's impossible to tell which boy is undergoing chemotherapy. Nearly all the boys are bald. Thirteen of them shaved their heads so a sick buddy wouldn't feel out of place.

"If everybody has their head shaved, sometimes people don't know who's who. They don't know who has cancer, and who just shaved their head" said 11-yeat-old Scott Sebelius, one of the baldies at Lake Elementary School.

For the record, Ian O'Gorman is the sick one.

Doctors recently removed a malignant tumor from his small intestine, and a week ago he started chemotherapy to treat the disease, called lymphoma.

"Besides surgery, I had tubes up my nose. I had butterflies in my stomach" said Ian, who'll have eight more weeks of chemotherapy in an effort to keep the cancer from returning.

Ian decided to get his head shaved before all his hair fell out in clumps. To his surprise, his friends wanted to join him - in a move reminiscent of the 1992 U.S. Olympic volleyball players, who shaved their heads in a show of solidarity with a bald teammate.

"The last thing he would want is to not fit in, to be made fun of, so we just wanted to make him feel better and not left out" said 10-year-old Kyle Hanslik.

Kyle started talking to other boys about the idea, and then one of their parents started a list. Last week, they all went to the barber shop together.

"It's hard to put words to," said Ian's father, Shawn, choking back tears as he talked about the boys. "It's very emotional to think about kids like that who would come together, to have them do such a thing to support Ian."

The boys' teacher, Jim Alter, was so inspired that be, too, shaved his head.

"You're showing the world and the country what kids can do. People think kids are going downhill. This is the best" Alur said.

EARLY LIGHT Guideposts Oct. 1994 p. 5 - Hasidic Tale

The rabbi put this question to his students: "How can we determine the hour of dawn, when the night ends and the day begins?"

When from a distance you can distinguish between a dog and a sheep," suggested one.

"No." answered the rabbi.

"When you can distinguish between a fig tree and a grapevine," offered another.

"No."

"Tell us." the students said. The teacher answered. "When you look into the face of a human being and have enough light to recognize in him your brother. Up until then it is night, and darkness is still with us."

BEARING THE BURDEN Pulpit Helps April 1995, p. 8

A few years ago at the Seattle Special Olympics, nine contestants, all physically or mentally disabled, assembled at the starting line for the 100-yard dash. At the gun, they all started out, not exactly in a dash, but with a relish to run the race to the finish and win.

All, that is, except one boy who stumbled on the asphalt, tumbled over a couple of times and began to cry. The other eight heard the boy cry. They slowed down and looked back. Then they all turned around and went back. Every one of them. One girl with Down's syndrome bent down and kissed him and said, "This will make it better." Then all nine linked arms and walked together to the finish line.

Everyone in the stadium stood, and the cheering went on for several minutes. People who were there are still telling the story.

Why?

Because deep down we know this one thing: What matters in this life is more than winning for ourselves. What truly matters in this life is helping others win, even if it means slowing down and changing our course.

LIFE'S SCARS Belle Center Encourager, 2/15/95 Dean Wasson

They say the world is round, and yet I often think it square;

So many little hurts we get from corners here and there

But there's one truth in life I've found while journeying east and west

The only folks we really wound are those we love the best.

We flatter those we scarcely know

We please the fleeting guest,

And deal full many thoughtless blow

To those we love the best.

QUOTE: Tell me whom you love, and I'll tell you who you are. Creole proverb

A woman missionary in the South Pacific Islands was explaining to a group of children the custom and significance of giving gifts at Christmas. "Giving gifts," she said, "expresses love and reminds us of the perfect gift of love we received from God: Jesus." Later that week, a young native boy came to the missionary's side and said, "I love you and want you to have this." He pulled from a straw basket the most beautiful shell the missionary had ever seen. As she admired its beauty, she recognized it as a special shell only found on the far side of the island, a half day's walk from the village. When confronted by this, the boy smiled and said, "Long walk part of gift!"

God "walked" 2000 years with his people before sending the gift of Jesus. And he has walked 2000 more years expressing the significance of Him!

Loneliness is a growing problem in our society. A study by the American Council of Life Insurance reported that the most lonely group in America are college students. That's surprising! Next on the list are divorced people, welfare recipients, single mothers, rural students, housewives, and the elderly. To point out how lonely people can be, Charles Swindoll mentioned an ad in a Kansas newspaper. It read, "I will listen to you talk for 30 minutes without comment for $5.00." Swindoll said, "Sounds like a hoax, doesn't it? But the person was serious. Did anybody call? You bet. It wasn't long before this individual was receiving 10 to 20 calls a day. The pain of loneliness was so sharp that some were willing to try anything for a half hour of companionship."

No one ever said it better than C. S. Lewis: To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything, and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly be broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact, you must give your heart to no one, not even to an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements; lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket -- safe, dark, motionless, airless -- it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable.... The only place outside Heaven where you can be perfectly safe from all the dangers of love... is Hell.

In the play, "My Fair Lady," Eliza is being courted by Freddy, who writes to her daily of his love for her. Eliza's response to his notes is to cry out in frustration:

Words! Words! I'm so sick of words!...

Don't talk of stars burning above,

If you're in love, Show me!

Don't talk of love lasting through time.

Make me no undying vow. Show me now!

THE KISS OF LOVE -- Richard Selzer, "Mortal Lessons"

I stand by the bed where a young woman lies, her face postoperative, her mouth twisted in palsy, clownish. A tiny twig of the facial nerve, the one to the muscles of her mouth, has been severed. The surgeon had followed with religious fervor the curve of her flesh; I promise you that. Nevertheless, to remove the tumor in her cheek, I had cut the little nerve.

Her young husband is in the room. He stands on the opposite side of the bed, and together they seem to dwell in the evening lamplight, isolated from me, private. Who are they, I ask myself, he and this wry mouth I have made, who gaze at and touch each other so generously, greedily? The young woman speaks.

"Will my mouth always be like this?" she asks.

"Yes," I say, "it will. It is because the nerve was cut."

She nods, and is silent. But the young man smiles.

"I like it," he says. "It is kind of cute."

All at once I know who he is. I understand, and I lower my gaze. One is not bold in an encounter with a god. Unmindful, he bends to kiss her crooked mouth, and I am so close I can see how he twists his own lips to accommodate to hers, to show her that their kiss still works.

THE WAVE OF LOVE Herbert O'Driscoll A Doorway of Time R.Digest May 89. p. 47

When I was a child, my grandmother died and was buried in the churchyard in Castlecomer, Ireland. The following year, I went there on holiday. One day we drove to visit relatives, I in the back seat with my grandfather. As we passed the graveled driveway leading up to the churchyard, my grandfather, thinking he was unobserved, pressed his face against the window of the car and with a small, hidden motion of his hand, waved. It was then I came to my first understanding of the majesty and vulnerability of love.

SHOWING LOVE R.Digest 7/83 p. 81

After shopping all morning, Mother and I stopped at a restaurant for lunch. As we ate, I noticed Mother glancing at a nearby table occupied by an elderly woman and a couple who appeared to be her daughter and son-in-law. They ate silently, and it was clear that things were not going well.

As we rose to leave, Mother stopped by their table. "Excuse me," she said, putting her arm around the unhappy old woman. "It's just that you remind me so much of my mother. May I hug you?"

The woman smiled radiantly as she accepted the embrace, and even turned her wrinkled cheek for my mother's kiss.

After we left the restaurant, I remarked, "That was awfully nice of you, Mother. But I didn't think she looked at all like Gran."

"Neither did I," said Mother cheerfully.

MY WISH R.Digest 11/83 p. 122

My grandfather always had the knack of saying the right thing. One Thanksgiving we explained to my younger brother the custom of breaking the turkey wishbone. Eager to have his wish come true, little Philip was bitterly disappointed when he saw that he held the small end of the bone, while his grandfather had the larger part.

"That's all right, my boy," said his smiling grandfather. "My wish was that you would get yours."

THE TAJ MAHAL R.Digest 11/83 p.161

To build it, 22,000 men and women labored 24 hours a day for 22 years. The Taj is the enduring legacy of the great love the Emperor Shah Jahan had for his wife of 19 years, Mumtaz Mahal ("Chosen One of the Palace"), who died while bearing their 14th child.

Believed to have been descended from Tamerlane, the conqueror, as well as from Genghis Khan, the famed Mongol warrior, Shah Jahan (who ruled from 1628 to 1658) was the 5th emperor of India from the Mughal dynasty. When he went South to make war upon rebel forces in 1631, his beautiful dark-eyed queen was at his side, as usual, even though she was pregnant. It was on this journey that tragedy struck: Mumtaz Muhal died in childbirth while in an encampment at Burhanpur.

Devastated, Shah Jahan left his wife's deathbed and went straight to his quarters, locking the doors behind him. For 3 days he remained within, taking no food or drink. When Shah Jahan reappeared 9 days later, his raven black hair had turned completely white.

Returning to his palace, the emperor began the construction of his wife's tomb on the Jumna river within easy view of his windows. It was a white marble tomb decorated with 28 different types of gems. A sheet of pearls was spread over the coffin, doors of solid silver opened onto the tomb and a solid gold balustrade surrounded the cenotaph.

Shah Jahan planned a mirror image of the Taj - in black marble - as his own tomb. It was not to be. Taken prisoner by his son, who usurped the throne in 1658, the Shah was confined in his own palace and lived for 8 years imprisoned therein. And so it was that when his guards found Shah Jahan dead at the age of 74, his eyes were still open, fixed upon the shimmering jewel of the Taj Mahal.

SEASONED SALT Leadership Spring 1985, p.69

Sodium is an extremely active element found naturally only in combined form; it always links itself to another element. Chlorine, on the other hand, is the poisonous gas that gives bleach its offensive odor. When sodium & chlorine are combined, the result is sodium chloride - common table salt - the substance we use to preserve meat and bring out its flavor.

Love and truth can be like sodium and chlorine. Love without truth is flighty, sometimes blind, willing to combine with various doctrines. On the other hand, truth by itself can be offensive, sometimes even poisonous. Spoken without love, it can turn people away from the gospel.

When truth and love are combined in an individual or a church, however, then we have what Jesus called "the salt of the earth," and we're able to preserve and bring out the beauty of our faith.

A gentleman entered a busy florist shop that displayed a large sign that read "Say it with flowers."

"Wrap up one rose," he told the florist.

"Only one?" the florist asked.

"Just one," the customer replied. "I'm a man of few words."

A former 4th grade teacher came into her room one Valentine's Day and found a handmade card bearing the message "All the 4th grade loves you, Mrs. Jones." This touched her deeply - until the next morning when she found a note with a corrected tally on her desk. It read: "All the 4th grade loves you, Mrs. Jones. All but two."

TRUE LOVE VS. LOVE OF BEAUTY Story told at 1992 Jr. Hi. Convention

True story is told of a WW II soldier who, just prior to shipping off to war in Europe, found a used book in a USO store. In the margins, a woman had written some observations that he found insightful and caring. Touched by this unknown person's insights, the soldier made inquiries until he found out the name and address of the donor, then he wrote her. He told her of how he had found the book, how impressed he was with her thoughts as he found them in the book, and that he was soon to go off to war and that had no one stateside with whom he could write. Would she write to him? She replied and said that she would.

Throughout those terrible years of war, the soldier and the woman exchanged constant letters and he found that he was falling in love with her. He said as much in one of his letters. She responded that she was feeling the same fondness for hi

m. He sent her his picture. She wrote back and said that if he truly loved her... a picture would not be necessary.

At last, he was to return from the War and wrote her that his ship would be docking at New York, not far from where she lived. If she could come and meet him at the dock, he would bring the book and she could wear a red rose on her lapel to help him identify her. She agreed.

When his ship docked, he descended the gangplank and searched the crowd for the woman he had written to for so long. Suddenly he was approached by a stunningly beautiful blond woman, dressed in a crisp green suit and eyes twinkling as she looked at him and walked up to him. In the wonder of that moment, he neglected to see that she was not wearing a rose on her lapel. She spoke: "Hi soldier." She winked and walked on. For a moment he was tempted to follow her and ask her name, but just then he noticed a woman standing alone, wearing a red rose on the lapel of her brown suit. The woman was 40ish, plain, thick ankles, even the suit was worn and not well pressed. He struggled for a moment with his dilemma, but then he realized that this was the person who had given so much of heart to him and had given him strength in the midst of very difficult times. Perhaps he could not feel romantic love for her, but the very least he could do was ask her out to eat and explain how much her letters had meant to him over these many years. Straightening himself, he crossed to her and saluted. Taking her hand, he introduced himself and asked if she would do him the honor of eating with him.

With a startled look, the woman said, "Look, Mr. I'm not sure what is going on here, but that blond woman that just passed you gave me this rose to wear on my suit and said that if a soldier were to ask me out to eat, she would be across the street in the diner waiting on him."

LOVE IS vs LUST IS Pulpit Helps 6/92 p.16

LOVE: 1) is patient, 2) kind, 3) does not envy, 4) does not boast, 5) isn't proud, 6) isn't rude, 7) isn't self-seeking, 8) isn't easily angered, 9) keeps no record of wrongs, 10) doesn't delight in evil, 11) rejoices in the truth, 12) always protects, 13) always trusts, 14) always hopes, 15) always preservers, 16) never fails; it is constant, enduring and faithful to the end.

LUST: 1) can't wait, is impulsive, 2) is cruel, critical and manipulative, 3) seeks more than it earns, 4) builds self at another's expense, 5) is easily threatened, 6) is disrespectful and thoughtless, 7) is demanding and uncaring, 8) is temperamental and retaliates, 9) doesn't forget offenses, 10) commits wrong to get its own way; rationalizes, 11) encourages lies and covers up misdeeds, 12) takes to gain its own ends; lacks concern for others, 13) is suspicious and jealous, 14) says one chance and you're out, 15) backs out when it is no longer convenient, 16) ceases when self is no longer served; it is fickle, insecure and unfaithful.

HOLDING HANDS Dynamic Preaching p. 31 2/93

A preacher was impressed by an older couple in his church who still seemed very enamored with one another. Every time he saw them, they were holding hands.

One day, he approached them after the service and remarked, "You 2 are an inspiration. Acting like teenagers in love! You even hold hands all them time."

The wife, with an exasperated look, retorted, "That's not love, preacher. It's the only way I can keep him from cracking his knuckles."

I STILL LOVE YOU from Greenville Church of Christ newsletter, Jim Moorehouse 4/93.

A man was driving on an out of the way 2 lane highway running thru the rural countryside. He noticed an old tumbledown shack standing in the middle of an open field. He had to smile to himself as he read the crudely printed message on one whole side of the shack. Apparently, some young man had scrawled in large letters with a piece of chalk: "I love you, Kathy."

A few weeks later, as he drove down that same road, he looked in anticipation for that same romantic message. His disappointment was as great as his surprise. Not only was the message gone, so was the barn. But his smile returned. Beside that field, on the back of a large road sign, scrawled in large white letters were the words: "I still love you, Kathy."

KITTEN LOVE R.Digest 9/76 p.108

A tomcat and a tabby were courting on the back fence when the tomcat leaned over to her and said, "I'd die for you, you beautiful thing."

The tabby gazed at him longingly and asked, "How many times?"

KISSING THE SCREEN Woody Allen in R.Digest 6/77 p.78

Conversation between interviewer and Woody Allen:

"What's it like when you kiss a girl in a movie, Woody? Do you ever get emotionally involved?"

"I once kissed Jeanne Moreau on the screen, and it meant nothing to either of us. Of course, the ushers pulled me down off the screen and made me go back to my seat.

NOT WHAT THEY CALL EACH OTHER NOW R.Digest 1/77 p.53

Small boy to sister as both read old letters in attic: "These aren't the names they call each other now."

HE WROTE IT HIMSELF R.Digest 1/77 p.131

On Supreme Court Justice Hugo L. Black's 83rd birthday, in 1969, his colleague, frequent opponent and good friend, John Marshall Harlan, sent him a birthday letter. This is a simple gesture for most men, but Justice Harlan was almost totally blind. To sign an opinion, he found it necessary to turn on a massive set of lights that had been installed above his desk and use a large, single lens magnifying glass. With the glass on his eye actually touching the paper, he would struggle painfully to complete his signature. It was the only writing he did.

The birthday note to Justice Black covered a page. When he had read it, Black folded it and put it carefully in his pocket, then turned his back on his clerk for a few minutes. When he turned around, his eyes were full of tears. "He wrote it himself," he said.

BENNY'S ROSES FOR MARY R.Digest 6/78 p.151

On the day after Jack Benny's death in December of 1974, a single long stemmed rose was delivered to Mary Livingstone Benny, his wife of 48 years. When the blossoms continued to arrive, day after day, Mary called the florist to find out who sent them.

"Quite a while before Jack passed away," the florist told her, "he stopped by to send a bouquet. As he was leaving, he suddenly turned back an said, "If anything should happen to me, I want you to send Mary a single rose every day.'" There was complete silence on Mary's end of the line. Then, weeping, she said good-by.

Subsequently, Mary learned that Jack had actually included a provision for the flowers in his will: one perfect rose daily for the rest of her life.

CELEBRATING DEPENDENCE Greenville, OH, Newsletter - Jim Morehouse

Jimmy Durante was asked to be a part of a show for WWII veterans. He told them his schedule was very busy and could afford only a few minutes, but when Jimmy got on stage, something interesting happened. He went through the short monologue and then stayed. The applause grew louder and louder and he kept on staying. Pretty soon, he had been on 15, 20 then 30 minutes. Finally, he took a last bow and left the stage. Backstage someone stopped him and said, "I thought you had to go after a few minutes. What happened?"

Jimmy answered, "I did have to go, but I can show the reason I stayed. You can see for yourself if you'll look down on the front row." In the front row were 2 men, each of whom had lost an arm in the war. One had lost his right arm and the other had lost his left. Together, they were able to clap, and that's exactly what they were doing, loudly and cheerfully.

VALENTINE VERSE R.Digest 2/77 p.103

Oh, innocent victims of Cupid,

Remember this terse little verse

To let a fool kiss you is stupid

But to let a kiss fool you is worse.

FELL IN LOVE WITH POSTMAN 11/78 p.247

A young Taiwanese man wrote some 700 love letters to his girlfriend in the years 1974-76, trying to persuade her to marry him. His persistence finally brought results. The United Press reported that the girl had become engaged - to the postman who faithfully delivered all the letters.

LOVE'S HEALING POWER r.digest January 1974

In my practice at the Atlanta Psychiatric Clinic, people sometimes ask me what psychiatry is all about. To me, the answer is increasingly clear. Almost every emotional problem can be summed up in one particular bit of behavior: it's a person walking around screaming, "For God's sake, love me." Love me, that's all. He goes through a million different manipulations to get somebody to love him.

On the other hand, healthy people are those who walk around looking for someone to love. And, if you see changes in the people who are screaming, "Love me, Love me," it's when they realize that if they give up this screaming and go into the business of loving another human, they can get the love they've been screaming for all their lives. It's hard to learn, but it's good when you get there.

FRIEND = SORROW CARRIER r.digest February 1975

James E. Milord, on Indian eloquence: Although the North American Indians had no written alphabet before they met the white man, their language was anything but primitive. The vocabulary of many Indian nations was as large as that of their French and English exploiters and often far more eloquent. Compare the coldness of "friend" and "one who carries my sorrows on his back."

DADDY SOMETIMES TAKES SHOWER WITH MOMMY Christian Standard 9/11/94

A preacher shared how he had been having a Bible Study in his home when he was describing the three Greek words for love. Then he asked those present if they could give an example of those types of love. His little daughter held up her hand and the preacher said, "OK Sarah, what example do you have of love?" The little girl smiled and said "Sometimes daddy takes a shower with mommy."

STOP TIME OR STOP A CLOCK Gary Johnson Spring Revival 94

A high School senior was asking his father's advice on how to woo the girl of his dreams that he'd just gotten a date with. "Well," said the father, "when you take her out for pizza tonight and you're sitting across the table from her, take her hand in yours, gaze longingly into her eyes and softly say 'Wow, you have a face that would make time stand still.'"

That night, when the boy took the girl out to eat, he sat down across the table from her, took her hand in his, gazed into her eyes and did his best to repeat what his father had told him - he'd meant to write it down, but he'd forgotten - and he said "Whoa babe, you've got a face that would stop a clock."

PASS THE SUGAR, SWEETEE Gary Johnson, Spring Revival 94

Three couples had gone out to eat together on a triple date. Sitting across from his girl, Jim said to Anna Mae, "Would you pass the sugar sweetee?" And Anna Mae just gushed and passed him the sugar.

Then Dick turned to Norma and said "Would you pass the syrup, honey?" And Norma Jean just smiled and handed the syrup to him.

Now Dave had been watching this with great attention and realized that it was now his turn to say something intimate to his girl and he looked across at Norma and said, "Pass the tea, bag."

Rita Snowden tells a story of the war. In France some soldiers with their sergeant brought the body of a dead comrade to a French cemetery to have him buried. The priest told them gently that he was bound to ask if their comrade had been a baptized adherent of the Roman Catholic Church. They said that they did not know. The priest said that he was very sorry but in that case he could not permit burial in his churchyard. So the soldiers took their comrade sadly and buried him just outside the fence. The next day they came back to see that the grave was all right and to their astonishment could not find it. Search as they might they could fine no trace of the freshly dug soil. As they were about to leave in bewilderment the priest came up. He told them that his heart had been troubled because of his refusal to allow their dead comrade to be buried in the churchyard; so, early in the morning, he had risen from his bed and with his own hands had moved the fence to include the body of the soldier who had died for France. -- William Barclay, "Commentary on Ephesians"

To dwell above with saints we love,

That will be grace and glory.

To live below with saints we know;

That's another story!

Frightened by the clamor of thunder in the night, a little child cried out. Holding her securely in his arms, her father explained that she needn't fear. God would take care of her because He loved her greatly.

"I know God will take care of me and love me," she replied. "But right now, Daddy, I want someone with skin on to love me."

An incident is told about two soldiers who had recently been released from a prison camp in Siberia following World War II. "We did our best," said an officer, "to repatriate the men as fast as possible, but many were still there when winter threatened to close up the port." Only a limited number could board the last small boat.

Among those waiting to be transported were two who had been chums all through the war. One of them was selected, but the other seemed doomed to remain behind. An order was given that those who were leaving could take only one important item of luggage. The heart of the man who was chosen went out to his buddy, so he emptied his dufflebag of its prized souvenirs and his personal belongings and told his companion to get into the canvas sack. Then carefully lifting the bag on his shoulders, he boarded the ship with his friend as his single, most precious possession. This man truly loved his neighbor as himself.

How can we "demolish" those things that once blew us away? With Christ living out His very life through ours, that's how. By his power we can give ourselves away again and again and again. And we won't fear the outcome. We won't even feel slighted when we don't get the same treatment in return. Servants, remember, don't "keep score." Dale Galloway tells a story in "Dream a New Dream" that beautifully illustrates this point.

Little Chad was a shy, quite young fella. One day he came home and told his mother, he'd like to make a valentine for everyone in his class. Her heart sank. She thought, "I wish he wouldn't do that!" because she had watched the children when they walked home from school. Her Chad was always behind them. They laughed and hung on to each other and talked to each other. But Chad was never included. Nevertheless, she decided she would go along with her son. So she purchased the paper and glue and crayons. For three whole weeks, night after night, Chad painstakingly made thirty-five valentines.

Valentine's Day dawned, and Chad was beside himself with excitement! He carefully stacked them up, put them in a bag, and bolted out the door. His mom decided to bake him his favorite cookies and serve them up warm and nice with a cool glass of milk when he came home from school. She just knew he would be disappointed -- maybe that would ease the pain a little. It hurt her to think that he wouldn't get many valentines -- maybe none at all.

That afternoon she had the cookies and milk on the table. When she heard the children outside she looked out the window. Sure enough here they came, laughing and having the best time. And, as always, there was Chad in the rear. He walked a little faster than usual. She fully expected him to burst into tears as soon as he got inside. His arms were empty, she noticed, and when the door opened she choked back the tears.

"Mommy has some warm cookies and milk for you."

But he hardly heard her words. He just marched right on by, his face aglow, and all he could say was: "Not a one -- not a one."

Her heart sank.

And then he added, "I didn't forget a one, not a single one!"

So it is when God is in control of the servant's mind. We realize as never before that life's greatest joy is to give His love away -- a thought that brings to mind the saying:

It isn't a song until it's sung.

It isn't a bell until it's rung.

It isn't love until it's given away!

Maybe you can identify with this writer to "Dear Abby."

Dear Abby: I am 44 and would like to meet a man my age with no bad habits. - Rose

Dear Rose: So would I.