When his pager went off during a council meeting, Knoxville, Tennesse, Police Chief Phil Keith was startled to see that the call was from his mother. Concerned, he rushed to the press table and phoned her.
"Phil Keith, are you chewing gum?" asked his mom, who had been watching the council meeting on cable TV.
"Yes, ma'am," answered Chief Keith.
"Well, it looks awful," his mother said. "Spit it out."
Keith dutifully removed the gum and went back to his meeting.
Aaah. A mother’s love.
In this month in which we draw attention to mothers, it might be well to explore the Christ-like love that mothers, especially, demonstrate. To practice Christ-like love is to follow the admonition found in John’s gospel: “I give you a new command, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another.” (John 13:34)
Perhaps the most important characteristic of Christ-like love is that it is supportive. We need to recognize the needs of others, and offer each other words of encouragement
and hope. K.C. Jones, the former coach of the
Boston Celtics basketball team, became famous
for his unique ability to give his players some
unforgettable words of encouragement when
they needed it most. If a player scored 50
points or made the game-winning basket,
Jones would not say much more than "nice game
" But when a player was down and really struggling, Coach Jones would be there to comfort and help and inspire. All-star forward Kevin McHale asked Coach Jones about this one day, and K.C. Jones answered: "Kevin, after you've made the winning basket, you've got 15,000 people cheering for you, TV commentators come rushing toward you, and everybody is giving you high fives. You don't need me then. When you need a friend most is when nobody is cheering."
That’s the kind of love Jesus instructs us to have for one another.
It is this kind of love that not only supports and uplifts our brothers and sisters in the faith, but the kind of love that demonstrates to the world around us exactly what it means - in very real terms - to be followers of Christ. The love we have for one another and how we demonstrate that love, will influence those “outside” and create a desire to share and benefit from that same kind of love. And then we’ll be fulfilling the further instruction of our Lord: “By this, everyone will know that you are my disciples.”
