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Today's Lenten Devotion
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Works of Love Are Works of Peace
Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit - just as you were called to one hope when you were called - one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
-- Ephesians 4:2-6
I consider Mother Theresa to have been a special angel sent from God Himself to earth to do the works described in the above Bible verse. This diminutive woman went about doing works for the poor in Calcutta, India, that we could never fathom doing.
I have a book about Mother Theresa that I treasure. It is titled "Works of Love are Works of Peace", and is a photographic record by Michael Collopy. It contains many excerpts from Mother Theresa and I would like to share a few of them with you.
She writes: "There is much suffering in the world - very much. And the material suffering is suffering from hunger, suffering from homelessness, from all kinds of disease, but I still think that the greatest suffering is being lonely, feeling unloved, just having no one. I have come more and more to realize that it is being unwanted that is the worst disease that any human being can ever experience."
Another excerpt: "The poor must know that we love them, that they are wanted. They themselves have nothing to give but love. We are concerned with how to get this message across. We are trying to bring peace to the world through our work. But the work is the gift of God. We do nothing. He does everything. All glory must be returned to Him. God has not called me to be successful. He has called me to be faithful. Pray for us that we may not spoil God's work."
Finally, one of my favorites: "We must not drift away from the humble works, because these are the works nobody will do. It is never too small. We are so small and we look at things in a small way. But God, being Almighty, sees everything great. Therefore, even if you write a letter for a blind man or you just go and listen, or you take the mail for him, or you visit somebody or bring a flower to somebody - small things - or wash clothes for somebody, or clean the house - very humble work - that is where you and I must be. For there are many people who can do big things. But there are very few people who will do the small things."
I wish you could all see the pictures contained in this book! Mother Theresa took the words from Ephesians 4:2-6 and lived them, and then gave hope to the rest of us that by just doing small things, very humble things, we too can live these words. I thank God every day for the saints that have touched my life be it a teacher, friend, doctor, relative,or someone like Mother Theresa who I never met. Let's all try for the small things!
Instead of a closing prayer, I will end with one last quote: "In the silence of the heart God speaks. Let God fill us, then only we speak. Do small things with great love. The Fruit of Silence ... is prayer. The Fruit of Prayer ... is faith. The Fruit of Faith ... is love. The Fruit of Love ... is service." AMEN!
Rae Starke
raestarke1234@aol.com
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