Article May 8, 2000 Issue

A bright blue lesson in love

You can love your neighbor.

By Honor Elizabeth Haase

Loving Our Neighbor is widely recognized as the right thing to do. But consistently feeling loving toward our neighbor can sometimes be challenging. A Christian who desires to love to the degree that Christ Jesus expected us to, would want to think carefully about his example. Unselfishness, compassion, and patience ran through all his work. In a brief and moving statement, Mary Baker Eddy says, referring to Jesus, "Out of the amplitude of his pure affection, he defined Love" (Science and Health, p. 54).

His example suggests that merely refraining from overtly unloving words or acts is not complying with the need to love. How does one get beyond this point to actually feeling loving?

For a number of years, a blue jay that frequents our backyard has been friends with my husband and me. He eats out of our hands. He flies into our patio, almost daily, and waits for us to give him his favorite treat. He is audacious, saucy, beautiful, brave, mischievous, and fun.

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