THE MARK OF LOVE

The movie opens up with Mark Twain speaking at his daughters graduation. He is telling of his various adventures, one of which peaked my interest. The young Mark Twain stumbled onto a picturesque plot of land with lush green grass, a log cabin surrounded by vibrant colored flowers. A man was tending to his garden when he sees Twain. He invites him into his cabin for some food and rest. The cabin was clean, bright, with a beautifully decorated table, which included the wild flowers from outside. As Twain looked around he saw a small picture of a beautiful woman. The man smiles and says its his “ Louisa”. She would be coming back that evening so he was preparing the festivities for it. He invites Twain to stay and he graciously accepts it. They went outside to cut some wood for the fireplace when the man looked up at Twain and asked this question, “ Have you ever been in love?” Twain, taken back, said “no”. The man smiles and said “ I didn’t think so.” And then he made this statement; “Real love marks a man”. Let me write that again. “ Real love marks a man”. I remember hearing Steve Harvey, the comedian, talk about his wife, when he said that, when it’s THE one, a man will change for her and only for her. Have you ever loved someone that way, the way that you know that this is the ONE, the ONLY one? Some have thought it was but only to find out it was like ‘fools gold’..As I also learned from the adventures of Mark Twain, when he was panning for gold, he thought he had found gold when in reality it was fools gold. It wasn't until he saw the “real” gold that he could distinguish it from fools gold. And then I saw it. The image of real love…Jesus hanging on a cross, marked with the pounding of metal nails in his hands and feet. Until Jesus came there were only fake prophets, messiahs, claiming to be the real one. Even John the Baptist wasn’t sure so he had one of the his followers ask Jesus “ are you the one we have been waiting for?” Jesus answered, “ tell John what you hear and see. The blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead rise, the good news is proclaimed to the poor.” But, it was the markings on Jesus, the holes in his hands and feet, that showed His REAL love for us because Jesus had a choice…God gave him a choice to die a horrible death, with pain and suffering, for our sins…or not. As Jesus said in the garden of Gethsemane, “ not my will, but yours Lord”. Real love marks a man…are you ready to accept real love..the love Jesus gives you? Are you ready to allow Jesus to change your life?