Love does have a lot to do with it

It's all part of that feeling you get when you've helped someone. The euphoria that comes from knowing you really have made a difference. You've positively impacted the life of a loved one, or even a stranger. I think that's why we get calls from people every day who want to donate their time and energy to helping us help others. People who maybe can't give a lot but want to do something to "fix the problems" of those in need. It's a feeling and a spirit that the government can't force upon people. You can reward someone for compassion, but you can't generate it by simply telling him or her to be "nicer" to others.

We've heard a lot about "change" and "hope" lately. Beautiful words being repeated like a mantra that will make us forget all the ugly things that seem to be happening in the world around us. Things like war and crime. Robbery and selfishness. Foreclosures. Bank failures. Unemployment. The list goes on, and it all adds up to loss.

Some things never change, which is why we can never stop doing our best to overcome the gathering darkness. And the things we should put our hope in--things like truth and justice--don't really come by the creation or the will of men in power. They come through the simple act of an everyday person saying, "I may not be able to change the world, but I can do my best to make a difference in my little corner of it."

This is what we see every day, ordinary people making a difference. And we also see it "rubbing off" on the men, women, and children whose lives are affected. These actions of compassion remind us all that, though the darkness should cover us, God is still there (Psalms 139). He will and does provide.

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning (James 1:17).