A long time ago, back during the Crusades, there was an old lady who was seen carrying two dishes, one holding fire in it, and the other holding water. (I was there, I saw this happen.) When one of the crusading Knights asked her why she was carrying them, she said that with the fire she would burn Paradise until there was nothing left, and with the water she would put out the fires of Hell until it was gone too. “Why?” she was asked.
“Because I want no one to do good in order to receive the reward of Paradise, or from fear of Hell; but solely out of love for God.”
Where is this love today? Where do we see people doing good simply for the sake of doing good, for the love they have for God?
People who say they are doing good these days are doing it because they’re either afraid of Hell, or hoping to reach Paradise. Nothing has changed in a thousand years.
God would love you to do things not in fear, or for his favour, but simply because it is in your heart to do something good for yourself or your fellow man. There is not enough of this today, and as a result, we see the Crusades happening all over again. Nothing was learnt, and the cycle continues. You can’t even say you forgot, because you know the history. And still you ignore it.
Where is the love?
(Thanks to Liberal Malcontents for reminding me about that event nearly a thousand years ago.)
Posted by angelblog 
