Achen's Message - June 2002

Dearly Beloved in Christ,

One of the essential characteristics of Christian life is the practice of the commandment of God's love in our day today life. But today the expression of love is limited. Jesus says" I give you a new commandment that you love one another just as I have loved you, you also should love one another"(John13: v34) Is it really new? Already in the Old Testament we read that we have to love God with our whole heart and our neighbor as ourselves. But there is something new in Jesus' command. "Love as I have loved you". Loving others is the hallmark of Christian life.

Camilo Torres, a famous evangelist and social worker writes "I chose Christianity because I felt that in it I had found the best way of loving and serving my neighbour.I was called by Christ to be motivated by the desire to devote myself fulltime to loving my fellow men. As a sociologist, I wished this love to become effective through science and technology. Upon analyzing Colombian society, I realized the need for a revolution that would give food to the hungry, drink to the thirsty, and clothing to the naked and bring about the well-being of the majorities in our country". These words express the words of Jesus" love your neighbor as yourselves"

How we can response the love of God in a meaningful way? Once St.Francis said" with a drop of honey you can catch more flies than a barrel of vinegar". He means that by being love and kind, by extending a helping hand, by lending an ear to others, we can win people. Through these we can express the love of God in our fellow beings. So Jesus wants today that:

• Love should reign in the life of our community.
• We should proclaim the Good news of God's love to others.
• Spread the spirit of joy and peace emerging from the love of God, we have for one another in the community.

Jesus says" By this you love one another, everyone will know that you are my disciple"(John13: v35) so our community should radiate the love of Christ that binds us to Him and the heavenly father rendering the law of Christ our own law. The more we carry out this law, the more we become like Christ and the more authentic will be our Christian life.

May God Bless each one of us.

With love & prayers,

John Achen