My father’s side of the family has always been a tad quirky. His grandparents had an idea when it came to naming their daughters. They wanted to have three daughters, and name them Faith, Hope, and Charity. They only ever reached Hope, but the idea of those three being the center of their life, was instilled into every generation afterwards.
“And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity,” which actually makes me a tad grateful that my family never had a third girl to name charity (1). Charity is most important because “Charity never faileth …”(2). Having that kind of name in a family might cause some rivalry and problems. On the other hand, having that sort of trait in our lives, can help get rid of problems. There is a famous song by Nickel Creek that speaks of love. The words are soft and sweet, and help to show just how important it is. The words go:
The boy only wanted to give Mother something
And all of her roses had bloomed
Looking at her as he came rushing in with them
Knowing her roses were doomed
All she could see were some thorns buried deep
And the tears that he cried as she tended his wounds
And she knew it was love
It was one she could understand
He was showing his love
And that's how he hurt his hands
He still remembers that night as child
On his mother's knee
She held him close and she opened her bible
And quietly started to read
And seeing a picture of Jesus he cried out
"Momma, he's got some scars just like me."
And he knew it was love
It was one he could understand
He was showing his love
And that's how he hurt his hands (3)
The word Charity has been defined as “benevolent goodwill toward or love of humanity” or the pure love of Christ, but I personally don’t think that is a very good definition because we are supposed to have charity, but pure love is “matchless bounty of his love”, and we could never comprehend it (4 & 5). However, the definition is as close as anyone can come to describing it, so I guess it will have to do. Charity is love. That much is sure. For God so loved the world that he sent his only begotten son… to suffer and die for us. Jesus Christ has offered us forgiveness and repentance when we are so low and filthy that we had to have him spill blood for us all. Truly, we don’t deserve that love and forgiveness, but he gives it freely to all that seek it anyways. “The Lord God hath given a commandment that all men should have charity, which charity is love” (6). Because we have been commanded to have charity, my must strive for it, or at least we must strive to obtain what we understand.
I am sure we all know of someone who has shown charity to us in our lives. For me, I was blessed enough to see that charity abounding in my own father. My father has adapted that meek love in his life to the point that he has never raised his voice to me, even in my disobedience. My father works hard to keep my family living in relative comfort, and in giving to charities either through the church or other companies of aid in the world, and I have never heard him complain a day in my life. He has even kept a cheerful disposition when dealing with the three girls (us two daughters and my mother) that don’t always get along and let our character traits clash. Because of my father, that is my view of charity. My father always reminds me of the scripture which reads: “Wherefore, ye must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a clove of God and of all men” (7). That is my view of how close a mortal can get to the pure love of Christ.
We must remember to love all mankind and to especially love the Lord, our God. “Even when we have merited love the least, He has loved us the most. Truly, He loves us first” (8). We can never really repay him for that love, but we must try. It is the least we can do. With charity, we can have the love required to return to our Father in heaven and spend an eternity with those that we love, and that is an amazing promise.
Works Cited:
(1.) 1 Corinthians 13:13
(2.) 1 Corinthians 13: 8
(3.) “The Hand Song” ~ Nickel Creek
(4.) http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/charity
(5.) Alma 26: 15
(6.) 2 Nephi 26:30
(7.) 2 Nephi 31:20
(8.) Enlder Gene R. Cook April 2002 General Conference Charity: Perfect and Everlasting Love
10 comments:
Lindsey, I really enjoyed your blog. I especially liked the lyrics you included. They illustrate well Christ's sacrifice for us. My mother is that example of charity in our family. She brings so much to our family because of her example. I share that same admiration you have for your dad. Thank you for your testimony :)
I enjoyed how you made charity tied to love. It's so true that we need to be charitable to be like Christ. I loved the lyrics to that song you put in, it exemplified your point exactly.
Great intro!
Awesome. Way to bring charity down to a whole new level.
great blog! it is true we can never repay christ for what he did to us, and so we must try with all our mights. this got me thinking alot. good job.
I absolutely love how you talk so greatly about your dad in here. My dad is a great example to me, especially of integrity. :) I love my dad. Thank you for your sweet words
Lindsey,
I love Nickel Creek, and that is one of my favorite songs of theirs'. I think its so cool that your grandparents wanted to name their three daughters Faith, Hope and Charity!
The charity is very important especially in this time. We should exorcise it more. I love the picture that you posted. It is very meaningful.
I enjoyed reading the song lyrics about the boy coming to know of Christ's love by picking roses for his mother out of love. Thanks for a great blog!
Thank you for sharing your thoughts. Your words are very powerful. I especially enjoyed reading the lyrics from the song, it was very inspirational.
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