The great question that faced John Perkins also faces us: Can we let love change everything in our world? Can we stop living in an endless cycle of evil for evil, or even of apathy for apathy? What would happen if we actually began to treat people as lost members of God’s family?

Some people will always seem unlovable to you. And maybe from your standpoint, they are. But before you get too sure of yourself, remember that to someone else, you may also be unlovable.

If you have chosen to follow Christ, the Holy Spirit has come to live within you—to guide you and empower you, to fill you with the love of Christ. When you feel anger or resentment rising in your heart, I challenge you to ask God to help you love and forgive in the power of the Spirit. He will answer that prayer every time. There is no occasion when it’s not God’s will for you to love. On your own, all things are difficult; in the power of the Spirit, all things are possible.

Well over a century ago, Henry Drummond preached a classic message on love called “The Greatest Thing in the World.” In one section, Drummond deals with how Christ’s love becomes our own. He points out that a magnet will pass its charge into a piece of ordinary iron that is left near it long enough.14 There is no force in the world more magnetic than the love of Christ. You can’t be exposed to it for long without its taking you over. He has loved us; now we can love Him. We can love ourselves. We can love others. We can love our neighbors. We can even love our enemies.

But will we? Will you? Christ has come down from heaven to show you what love is and how to live in its power. Now it is up to you and to me to go out and love a world tearing itself to pieces for want of it.

Our task is a daunting one, but in the power of Christ through the work of the Holy Spirit, we can do it. We will do it.

Let’s make waves, you and I. Waves can begin with ripples. If enough of us send out ripples, if enough of us show what the love of God means to this world, those waves will touch the shores of eternity itself.

I’m ready for action. How about you?

CONCLUSION

In his famous novel The Fountain, which explored the themes of love, art, and death, English novelist Charles Morgan wrote, “There is no surprise more magical than the surprise of being loved; it is God’s finger on man’s shoulder.”1