"By chance a Jewish priest came along; but when he saw the man lying there, he crossed to the other side of the road and passed him by. A Temple assistant walked over and looked at him lying there, but he also passed by on the other side.

"Then a despised Samaritan came along, and when he saw the man, he felt deep pity. Kneeling beside him, the Samaritan soothed his wounds with medicine and bandaged them. Then he put the man on his own donkey and took him to an inn, where he took care of him. The next day he handed the innkeeper two pieces of silver and told him to take care of the man. 'If his bill runs higher than that,' he said, 'I'll pay the difference the next time I am here.'" (Luke 10:30-35 nlt)

Truly this Samaritan man showed love in action. The fact that the Jewish people despised the Samaritan people makes the story even more profound. True love crosses over the lines of racism or stereotyping. It stretches beyond the convenient or the comfortable.

Mother Teresa is a twentieth-century example of someone who put love in action. She founded the Order of the Missionaries of Charity, and her selfless commitment to serving the poor in Calcutta, India, saved the lives of nearly eight thousand people. In 1979 she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her compassion and devotion to the destitute. She humbly poured out Christ's love to everyone she touched, believing that acts of love begin in the small things we do for others. She said, "We can do no great things-only small things with great love."

I am a little pencil in the hand of a writing

God who is sending a love letter to the world.

-Mother Teresa

Editor's Note: This is the first of three excerpts taken from The Power of a Postive Woman. Parts Two and Three will be published the next consecutive Tuesdays. 

Exerpted with permission from The Power of a Positive Woman.
(c)2002 by Karol Ladd. Howard Publishing Co. Inc., West Monroe, La.