Love can't be legislated

LOVE CAN'T BE LEGISLATED

 

'Love the Lord your God . . . and, Love your neighbor as yourself'
(Luke 10:27 NIV).

 

President Lyndon Johnson said, "We have talked long enough in this country about equal rights . . . it is time now to write the next chapter and to write it in the books of law." But the breakdown of the relationships between people is not a breakdown of law.

 

Some time ago I was in an airport in a southern state. I noticed two little girls about three or four years old. one was black and one was white, and they were sharing a box of raisins. Their sharing was not based on any law that insisted they must, nor do I believe any law could have kept them apart. They were simply two children, innocent, loving, accepting, who were willing to share with each other.

 

The relationships between people who should be "brothers" cannot be based on law. Law justifies us on the basis of what we do not do. For instance, if I don't commit a crime, I'm innocent.

 

Neither can relationships be based on religion. Religion justifies us on the basis of what we do and tends to make us self-righteous when we keep all our religious rules.

Relationships between people must be founded on something much deeper and stronger than law or religion. Jesus taught that the basis of human relationship is loving response to others' needs.

 

Life response: For my part, I will break down the barriers that separate people.