22: The Greater Wish

Galen

May 23

There once was a young woman who had a baby boy. Just after her son's baptism, a ragged old man came to her, and offered to grant her one wish on behalf of her son. Thinking only the best for her baby, the woman wished that her son would always be loved by everyone he met. The old man said, "so be it," and vanished. It turned out just as he said.

As the boy grew, everyone loved him so much that he never lacked for anything. Yet, things did not turn out as expected. As adored and admired as the young man was, he experienced a terrible emptiness within him. He could have anything he wanted, just by asking, but he had no real friends. He never knew the joy of a day's work or an achievement, richly rewarded. His neighbors took care of all his needs. The young man became cynical, jaded and selfish as none of his actions ever brought him any negative consequences.

Finally, the day came when his aged mother died. At the funeral, the same mysterious old man appeared and offered the young man one wish. The young man took him up on his offer and asked that his mother's original wish for him be changed. Rather than being loved by everyone he met, the young man asked the old wizard to give him the power to love everyone he met. And, the story goes, from that day forward he knew happiness such as no one on this earth has ever known.

We all want to be loved, to know that feeling that stirs the butterflies in our stomachs and makes our hearts skip beats every time we see our beloved. There's nothing wrong with that.

I don't know, however, if I've ever known anyone to wish that they had the power to love everyone else. But if we are to be Christ-like, we will long to love as Jesus loved – even to the point of being willing to die for our enemies because we love them so much.

I give you a new command: Love one another. Just as I have loved you, you must also love one another. By this all people will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another. – John 13:34-35

PRAYER: Lord, help me to love others and not to seek to be loved. Teach me to love as you do! In Jesus' name, Amen.

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