“With
an age old love I have loved you, so I have kept my mercy towards you. “
Jeremiah 31:3
“…It
was because the Lord loved you…” Deuteronomy 7:6-8
I am reminded today that there
is nothing I can do to earn the Father’s Love. This is both reassuring and
unsettling. Unsettling because there is nothing I can do. It doesn’t matter how much I do or strive to impress him. It doesn’t
matter. He loves me! Does that also mean that there is nothing I can do to
make him take that love away? Yes, in reflecting in Scripture and in my life, I
think that is also true. This is astounding and humbling, really. While I don’t
want to try to make him not love me, although, I end up messing up anyway, I do
find myself wanting to make him see me and see how important I am. It is a
difficult concept to grasp, unconditional love. I find myself resisting. From a human perspective, I find it hard to
understand how I can be loved because of his love. It is so simple but so hard.
Surely, there has to be a catch.
As
I reflect, I come to a deeper and another unsettling thought. My resistance
probably means that I’m not as accepting
of his love as I’d like to be, and I probably am not as loving as I think.
I’m not sure that I love everyone without strings attached. It’s easy when
things are great, but when things get tough or don’t go my way, I’m like child
yelling, “This is not fair! I deserve better!” How quickly, I forget how faulty
I really am when I feel like a victim.
How can I love others? Just
love no matter what they say or do? I realize more and more that I cannot. However,
our Father does and can.
He is so way more capable of loving. Because
he loves, we are made in his image, in love…out of love…to love; we are
loved, are forgiven, loveable, and cared for. This love is unimaginable,
unearnable, and unbelievable, but it is beyond our imagining, offered, and very
real. Love is not a concept; it is a Person sent to die for us from a Father
who’s gaze and embrace are unending.
Since
there is nothing I can do to earn his love, and he is love, I surrender to the
fact that I need him. I need to accept his love and mercy. However, in doing
so, I put myself in a very interesting position. It changes things from “Because the Lord loved you…,” to “Because the
Lord has loved me, I love you.” I grow in the vision to see the Lord
present and loving in my brothers and sisters. I can grow in the grace to say
“I love you” and mean it. Because the Lord has been merciful to me, I can be
merciful to others. And, in the words of
Blessed Mother Teresa “Love anyway.”
I thank and praise the Lord for
this immense love and my prayer is that I can see with his eyes and somehow
learn to be as merciful and loving to my brothers and sisters, not because they
deserve it, not because they’ve earned it, but because the Lord has loved me
and kept his mercy towards me and that's a Gift. May
we all accept this Gift and share it with each other!
Take
my hand
I'll
lead you to salvation
Take
my love
For
love is everlasting
And
remember
The
truth that once was spoken
To
love another person
Is
to see the face of God
From Les Miserables “Epilogue”
