Today's Devotion: 4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. (The Holy Bible : New International Version. electronic ed. Grand Rapids : Zondervan, 1996, c1984, S. 1 Co 13:4-7)

If we focus on verse 5, we can easily see that love incorporates forgiveness. There is nothing negative in love. Love is positive.

Today's Comments: There is no such thing as saying, "I love you, but................." If our love is true, we must overlook the faults in others. And we must repent of the faults in ourselves. God set the standard for love, and Jesus' sacrifice is the benchmark. I wonder if the captain of that freighter which was hijacked by Somalian pirates knows Jesus? He sure showed that kind of love for his crew---- such love that he was willing to sacrifice his life for them.

In a few weeks, our Whittier Musicians' Workshop is having it's May concert. The song that I am singing is called The Ballad of Roger Young. Like that captain, Roger Young was willing to sacrifice his life for his comrades in arms. And, in this case, he did. Here is a historical note from the ending of Starship Troopers, by Robert A. Heinlein:

"Young, Rodger W., Private, 148th Infantry, 37th Infantry Division (the Ohio Buckeyes); born Tiffin, Ohio, 28 April 1918; died 31 July 1943, on the island of New Georgia, Solomons, South Pacific, while singlehandedly attacking and destroying an enemy machine-gun pillbox. His platoon had been pinned down by intense fire from this pillbox; Private Young was wounded in the first burst. He crawled toward the pillbox, was wounded a second time but continued to advance, firing his rifle as he did so. He closed on the pillbox, attacked and destroyed it with hand grenades, but in so doing he was wounded a third time and killed. His bold and gallant action in the face of overwhelming odds enabled his teammates to escape without loss; he was awarded posthumously the Medal of Honor."