Make Love to the World
by Jesse Aiken
In
my conversations with God, there have been some surprising answers, but
never one as startling as this. I began to pray the Prayer of St. Francis,
"Lord make me an instrument of Thy Peace." Before I completed the second
petition, there came a clear, concise command:
Make Love To The World
"But God, I have contact with such an infinitely small number of the people
of Your world."
"True. But you can write a love letter to the rest of my
people."
In simple trust and obedience this is my love letter:
_____________________________
Dear Fellow Beings on Planet Earth, whoever you
are, wherever you are, I love you and yearn for you to have every good
thing of life that I claim for myself.
My impulse to love beyond the limits of family and friends goes back to
the command of Jesus "You shall love your neighbor as yourself."
Having grown up in a succession of small southern towns, my concept
of neighbor was quite parochial. But in the process of maturing I was exposed
to people whose convictions about love were far deeper than mine. My understanding
of loving my neighbor was gradually expanded by the spoken and written
word. I finally reached the firm conclusion that every other person
on the face of the earth is my neighbor.
I am committing my last years to the struggle for peace and justice.
-
I despair at the ineffectiveness of the peace and justice movement which
stubbornly refuses to come together in some kind of an association in order
to present a united front against militarism and injustice.
-
I believe that the exploitation of the weak by the strong must be resisted
whenever and wherever it rears its ugly head.
-
I am ashamed to live in a country which, with about six percent of the
world's population, consumes about thirty-six percent of the world's resources,
making it necessary for the other ninety-four percent to compete for our
leavings.
-
I am appalled that world society is so structured that with every turn
of the economic cycle, the rich tend to become richer and the poor tend
to become poorer. Poverty and hunger are twin abominations in our time.
-
I am shocked beyond measure by the rape of Planet Earth by sheer carelessness
or by exploitation which places immediate gain ahead of the ability of
future generations to survive.
On the positive side, I believe that Planet Earth is capable of
affording each resident a decent way of life if its resources and opportunity
to use its resources were equitably distributed. I respond to the slogan
of the Christophers: "It is better to light one candle than to curse the
darkness."
-
My pen is my sword, and I try to use every opportunity to promote peace,
justice, equality of opportunity, and the protection of our environment
by the written word.
-
I speak on behalf of world hunger and have yet to decline any chance to
speak on this subject.
-
Whatever income I have above actual living expenses (and I opt for the
simple life) I divide into two equal parts with one half going to my daughters
and the other half dedicated to world peace and world hunger. My will provides
that this arrangement will continue after my death.
With my love to each and every other inhabitant of beautiful and bountiful
Planet Earth.
Jesse
Jesse Aiken is a Stephen Minister from Hickory NC.
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