Calvin Synod Herald, 2011 (112. évfolyam, 3-12. szám)

2011-11-01 / 11-12. szám

CALVIN SYNOD HERALD 7 policy: if you love me I will return your kindness. In other words, if you are nice to me, I will be nice to you. What is behind this thinking? Your affection obliges me to reciprocate your good­ness. And in an inviting form: please, be so good to me that I would be forced to do the same. This is what God says about Israel in the parable of the vineyard: “What more was there to do for my vineyard, that I have not done it?” Isaiah 5:4 2. Rewarding love. This attitude is popular especially among children. If little Steve wants something badly, he will do his best to be good so his mother and father will notice the difference in his behavior and will reward him, for he knows his parents love him. “Well done, good and faithful, servant; you have been faithful over a little, I will set you over much, enter into the joy of your master." Mathew 25:21. 3. Compensating love. Chiefly parents practice it. When a child is sick, hurt or ran into an unfortunate situation do not the parents love this child more to offset the loss? How many times was this charge brought up between brothers and sisters: our mother loved you more? Life would be unfair without any com­pensation. “Truly, I say to you, there is no man who has left house or wife or brothers or parents or children, for the sake of kingdom of God, who will not receive manifold more in this time, and in the age to come eternal life.” Luke 18:29 30. 4. Corrective love. Now we enter that part of our emotional life where the spiritual is active. Discipline, medical treatment, criticism are usually hurting yet in many instances they take place because we care and love. “For the Lord disciplines him who he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.” He­brews 12:6. 5. Initiative love. To start is always risky; I may be rejected, ridiculed, run into difficulties, and end up in failure. Most of us like only to finish and approve but how many of us prefer to start from scratch? And are we willing to plant when we know that somebody else will harvest? “We love, because he (God) first loved us.” 1 John 4:19. Please read also 1 John 4:9 11. 6. Sacrificing love. The gap is the greatest between this and the previous one. We like to receive (is not it natural around Christmas?) and we are also happy to make a good deal, howev­er, only to give up, suffer, tolerate, forgive without being forced into it is not easy. Gain, profit, growth ... are the favored ex­pression of business but to accept the opposite willingly, sacrific­ing love is needed. “. . . Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins to deliver us . . .” Galatians 1:4. Please see: 1 Timothy 2:6 and Titus 2:14. You will agree with me that most of us have tried to practice love on the first degree with more or less success. But could you try to reach higher and higher? Going through these degrees and reaching the top, there love is able to transform our lives: ambi­tion into adoration, demands into dedication, getting into giving, greed into gratitude, hatred into hope, retaliation into reconcilia­tion, selfishness into sacrifice. It is easy to expect others to prac­tice perfect love and be a good Christians but God wants you and me to receive the highest spiritual qualification and earn our MASTER'S degree. Rev. Alexander Ja Iso 03 SO Boldog karácsonyi ünnepeket kívánunk! 'Wishing you a Merry Christmas WILLIAM PENN ASSOCIATION Fraternal Life Insurance and Annuities Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania To learn how we can serve your family, call us at 1-800-848-7366 or visit us on the internet at www.williampennassociation.org flfdott "Karácsonyi "Ünnepeket Kívánunk, "Minden Magyar Testvérünknek! 1921 óta gondozzuk magyar testvéreinket szép, dombos, vidéki környezetben. Gondos ápolással, rendszeres programokkal, magyar nyelvű Istentisztelet és lelkész szolgálattal ápoljuk testvéreinket. Medicaid/Medicare igazolt. NYUGDÍJAS FALU • ÖREGEK OTTHONA IDEIGLENES ÁPOLÁS - HOSSZÚTÁVÚ ÁPOLÁS (Etessed Christmas to ad our Hungarian (Brothers andSisters! We've been caring for our brothers and sisters since 1921, in a beautiful, rural environment. We provide loving nursing care, cultural programs, Hungarian Church Services and on-site Ministry. Medicaid/Medicare approves facilities. RETIREMENT VILLAGE ASSISTED LIVING FACILITIES SHORT-TERM - LONG-TERM NURSING CARE Bethlen Home 125 Kalassay Drive • Ligonier, PA 15858 e-mail: revimre@bethlen.com phone: 724-238-6711 *t Rev. Imre A. Bertalan Executive Director Michael Walker Administrator

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