«He who does not love does not know God, for God is love» (1 John 4:8).
IF YOU HAVE READ A Hundred Years Of Solitude, by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, you will remember the insomnia plague that hit Macondo, the town where the scenes of this book, which won the great Colombian writer the Nobel Literature Prize, take place.
Although the plague was initially welcomed, in the belief that they would have more time to enjoy life, the effects of the illness were soon obvious when the townspeople noticed they were suffering from a greater evil: forgetfulness. Worried that they might forget even the names of basic everyday objects, the townspeople resorted to the method of labeling everything: table, chair, door, wall, bed. . . They did the same with the names of plants and animals. That way the problem would be solved. However, then they realized that a day might come in which even if they remembered the names of things, they might not remember what they were used for. So they decided to be more specific. The cows label, for instance, read, «This is a cow. It should be milked every day so that it will produce milk…”
After some time, the entire town was full of signs. The biggest one, on Macondo’s main street, read: GOD EXISTS. No matter how extensive the plague of forgetfulness was, one thing was for sure in Macondo: even if they forgot everything else, the sign on main street would always remind them that God exists.
Is there a lesson in this? Perhaps it would also be convenient for us, who live in the age of information—in which our brains literally receive many more stimuli than it can process and interpret—, to define which things we cannot afford to forget. And we could even consider writing signs to help us in that sense. I would suggest, for instance, a small sign with today’s verse:
«He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. «
And beside it, or below it, I would write this quote as an explanation; like they did in Macondo:
» ‘God is love’ is written upon every opening bud, upon every spire of springing grass. The lovely birds making the air vocal with their happy songs, the delicately tinted flowers in their perfection perfuming the air, the lofty trees of the forest with their rich foliage of living green—all testify to the tender, fatherly care of our God and to His desire to make His children happy.»—Steps to Christ, ch. I, p. 10.
Thank You, heavenly Father, because in all Creation we read of Your great love for each one of us, and because You remind us in Your Word that we are Your beloved children.
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Taken from: Devotional Readings for Adults 2022
“GREAT IS OUR GOD!”
From: FERNANDO ZABALA
Colaboradores: Xiomara Perdomo & Angelica Cuate
