What is Love? A Question Asked.

This short post is a nice little story illustrating of the ideal of love and the reality.

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A young lady had written a collection of poems. She had worked a long time on them and was very proud of her work. For a while, she would read them to small groups and poetry meetings. Feeling that it was time to share them with a wider audience she decided to have them published. She traveled to the offices of a major magazine and asked to speak to the editor.

'How may I help you?" Asked Horace, the old editor.

"I have some poems I would like to have published; I am told they are very good."

"Well, let's see. What are they about?"

"Oh, they are about love."

"Humph," Snorted Horace. "What is love?"

The young lady looked up with a dreamy faraway look and said, "Love is gazing at the golden sunset over flowering fields on the first day of spring as a lark sings...."

"No.! No! Stop it right there, Miss." cried the editor. "You've got it all wrong. Let me tell you what love is. It is getting up cheerfully in the middle of the cold winter night to go out and get medicine for a sick child."


God loved mankind not by having warm feelings of good will but by sending "His only begotten son.*" into the world to die for mankind's sin so man may come to him and receive eternal life.

*John 3:16

(C)Adron Dozat

The Educated Young Man And The Shoes.

The Educated Man
And The Shoes

I was teaching a lesson on pride to a class of high school kids and found this story to help them understand the Christian motivation for humility.
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Back when the emperor ruled in China there was a young man who lived in a city. His family was wealthy and had many servants so the young man never had to dirty his hands with common work. Because he came from a wealthy family he was able to receive a fine education. He excelled in all his studies and was considered one of the brightest students at the university. He was very cultured and was careful to observe all the customs of upper society. This man became a Christian and as a follower of Jesus he wanted to serve his Lord, so he joined a mission hospital that was run by a missionary and there the young man trained to become a nurse.

He was given many interesting opportunities to help people and being educated he was able to understand much of the medicine and science. He was excited to be able to serve Jesus by serving people whom Jesus loved. He was respected by patients and staff.

I have never cleaned shoes it is below me

One day the missionary doctor brought to the young man some muddy filth covered shoes and asked him to clean them.

"What?" decried the young man. "No, not me I have been educated. I understand science and medicine. I am from the upper class we do not clean shoes, have someone else do this."

"Everyone else is busy elsewhere. I need you to clean these shoes."

"I have never cleaned shoes. It is below me I will not do this."

The missionary brought out his worn Bible, and read from the Gospel of John. "And supper being ended, the devil having now put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, to betray him; Jesus knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he was come from God, and went to God; He riseth from supper, and laid aside his garments; and took a towel, and girded himself. After that he poureth water into a;basin and began to wash the disciples' feet, and to wipe them with the towel wherewith he was girded. Then cometh he to Simon Peter and Peter saith unto him, Lord dost thou wash my feet? Jesus answered and said unto him, What I do thou knowest not now; but thou shalt know hereafter. Peter saith unto him, Thou salt never wash my feet. Jesus answered him, If I wash thee not thou has no part with me. Simon Peter saith unto him, Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head. Jesus saith to him, He that is washed needeth not save to wash his feet, but is clean everywhit: and ye are clean but not all. For he knew who should betray him; Therefore said he, Ye are not all clean. So after he had washed their feet, and had taken his garments and was set down again, he said unto them, Know ye what I have done to you? You call me Master and Lord and ye say well; for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another's feet. For I have given you and example, that ye should do as I have done to you.*"  Then the missionary left the room without saying a word leaving the open Bible on the table.

He washed the disciples feet

Later that day the cleaned shoes were brought to the missionary by a now very humble young man. He set the clean shiny shoes down on the table and said, "If Jesus can wash the disciples feet then I can clean shoes."  The young educated man became known as the most willing worker in the hospital who was happy to scrub floors, clean wounds, take out trash, clean dishes, and do whatever lowly task offered, because so doing he was following his Savior.

*John 13:2-16 JKV

(C)Adron Dozat

A Love Returned - a Parable Illustration of 1 John 4:14

This is an illustration I used for the Awana kindergarten class for the verse of 1 John 4:14, "We love him because he first loved us."  I hope it is an inspiration for you.

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          Mr. Frankman was an old man who lived with his granddaughter, Penny.  They lived in a little town surrounded by woods.  Early every morning as the sun was coming up he would take his cane and go for a walk with Penny on the paths in the woods. Penny would run and skip on ahead and pick flowers and look for bird's nest while old Mr. Frankman walked slowly with his cane.  One early morning Penny heard a whimper in the dark place in the woods, and ran back to tell Mr. Frankman. The old man went through the bushes and looked in the dark place and found a dog. This dog had been the victim of cruel people who threw stones at it and beat it so badly that it was sick and dying.

          Mr. Frankman tried to go near it but the dog showed its sharp teeth and growled. Mr. Frankman  tried to help it but it bit him. It bit him because all the meanness that had been done to the dog made the dog mean. The bite was so bad Mr. Frankman gave up to go to the Doctor for stitches in his hand.

          Penny cried and cried when she saw all the blood and torn flesh.  "There is a bad dog in the woods." she said. "It hurt my grandpa."

          The next morning Mr. Frankman and Penny went again for their walk in the woods. He heard the dog whimpering again and found the dog just where it was before, since it was too sick and weak to go anywhere. This time Mr. Frankman threw his coat over the head of the dog, but even with his head buried in the coat the dog fought and tried to bite him again.  With the coat over the dog he was able to get the it home. 

          "Don't bring that mean, old, bad dog home," Penny said, "he will bite you again."

          Mr. Frankman kept the dog and named it Prince. Just like Penny said, it kept trying to bit him. Mr. Frankman kept feeding it, and every time Prince would try to bite him.  

          “Get rid of that dog." people said.  “He is a bad dog. Take it to the woods and shoot it.” 

          “No, I believe Prince is worth my love,” Old Mr Frankman said.

          Mr. Frankman gave Prince medicine, but the dog still tried to bite him. He gave Prince baths and still Prince growled at him. He gave Prince a home and did everything he could for it.  Mr. Frankman kept on loving the dog. For many months this went on. It looked like the dog would always be mean and angry.

          "You should get rid of that dog." People still said.

          "No. I believe there is something good in him." Mr. Frankman would still say.

          After a long while the dog stopped trying to bite the man. After a while Prince got well enough to go for the early morning walks with Mr. Frankman and Penny in the woods. Prince stopped growling at him, and even began to sleep on the floor next to the Mr. Frankman.  Prince would lick his hand and let Mr. Frankman pet him.  Prince became a faithful friend.

          One early morning Mr. Frankman, Penny and the dog went for a walk in the woods. Penny skipped along ahead to look for bunnies and bird's nest while Mr. Frankman slowly walked with his cane. 

          "Help! Help!" Penny cried. A bear had come across the path. This bear was sick with a maddening  fever. It slowly stood up on its hind legs and growled a challenge. Mr. Frankman came running in his old man way swinging the cane which was all he had to defend himself with and was no match for a fever crazed bear. Prince leaped ahead and jumped between the Penny and the bear barking and showing his big dog teeth and growling. The bear charged.  The dog met the charge with a hammering lunge against its chest.  Prince jumped up and bit the mad bear on the paw and leg, the bear was not hurt because he was so big.  He saw the dog was going to give it a real fight so the bear turned around and went back into the woods. 

          Because the man loved the dog the dog learned to love.  

(C)Adron Dozat