WELCOMING VISITORS
Once a businessman had a
dramatic dream. He was staying in his house with his wife and teen-aged
daughter. In his dream, hearing a knock at the door, he opened the door. Three
old men, with long and grey beards were at the door. They appeared to be
noblemen tired after a long journey. He welcomed them to his house and requested
them to rest and have a drink. They replied that only one of them could be
invited to enter his house and the man had the option to choose the person.
"What are your names?" asked the man to the strange visitors. The
visitors informed that their names were: LOVE, WEALTH and VICTORY.
The man was
confused and so decided to consult his wife and daughter before inviting one of
them to enter his house. His wife was in favour of 'victory' as she wanted to
be victorious in every facet of life. He personally preferred 'wealth' over the
others as his only interest in life was in amassing wealth. His young daughter
argued for welcoming 'love' as she felt that love was the most important aspect
of life. After much argument, they decided to give preference to the opinion of
their daughter. So they invited 'LOVE' into their home. Immediately all the three
visitors entered their house, together, in a hurry.
The man asked them why they
changed their mind and decided to accompany the invited guest. Then they
replied, "If you had invited either wealth or victory, only the selected
one would have entered your house. But because you selected love, all three of
us would gladly enter and bless your home. Where there is true love, victory
and wealth are sure to enter." The man learned a great lesson about the
importance of love from the angels of love, wealth and victory who visited him
in his dream.
St. John, the
Apostle, is known as the Apostle of Love. He learned the value of true love,
while witnessing the cruel crucifixion of Christ on Calvary. In his old days,
the only advice St. John used to deliver during his sermons was, "My
children, you must love one another." In his Epistle, he wrote, "My children, our love should not be
just words and talk; it must be true love, which shows itself in action"
{1 John 3: 18}. "God is love and
whoever lives in love lives in union with God and God lives in union with
him" {1 John 4: 16}.
Worried over the
lack of love among some Corinthians, St. Paul wrote to them his famous words of
wisdom about real love, "I may be
able to speak the languages of men and even of angels, but if I have no love,
my speech is no more than a noisy gong or a clanging bell..." {1
Corinthians 13: 1-13}.
Love is the language that Jesus taught his disciples as the universal
medium for evangelisation. Love can be heard by the deaf, seen by the blind and
felt even by the mentally retarded.
We may give without loving; but we cannot love without giving. Love is
giving all we can. Love is like a smile - both have no value unless
given away. Karl Menninger said, "Love cures people - both the ones who give it
and the ones who receive it." Mother Teresa said, "It is not how much
you do, but how much love you put into what you do that counts."
.........................................................................................................
© By: Dr. Babu Philip, Professor, Cochin University of
Science & Technology, Fine Arts Avenue, Kochi-682016, Kerala, India, Prof.
Mrs. Rajamma Babu, Former Professor, St. Dominic's College, Kanjirappally and
Leo. S. John, Maniparambil, Ooriyakunnath, Kunnumbhagom, Kanjirappally,
Kottayam-686507, Kerala, India.
For more moral stories, parables and anecdotes for
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