Look for excuses to love
reasons to care
opportunities to be kind
seek out connection
pursue compassion
offer grace freely
forgive as you have been forgiven
look for the image of God
in others
from the eyes of God
in you
allow differences to fade away
grudges to lose their meaning
fear to loosen its grip
become disentangled
from the illusion of separation
look for reasons to love
as you have been
as you are
loved
~Robert Van Valkenburgh
Reflection:
Though love may sometimes show up as a grand feeling. More often, it is a quiet decision repeated throughout the days, weeks, months, and years. Love invites us to live with intention —to look for excuses to connect rather than reasons to withdraw. Through grace, love allows us to see with new eyes. It asks us to notice the image of God in others and to remember that we are seen through the same merciful gaze.
When we seek connection, pursue compassion, and offer grace freely, something begins to loosen inside us. Old resentments lose their weight. Fear softens. The illusion that we are separate from one another starts to fade. We begin to understand that love is not something we manufacture; it is something we participate in. It flows through us as we forgive, as we care, as we choose kindness again and again.
To look for reasons to love is to live as if grace is real. It is to believe that beneath every difference, every wound, every misunderstanding, there is still a shared dignity rooted in God. And when we live this way, we slowly discover something astonishing: the love we offer is the same love we have already received. We are not creating it. We are simply allowing it to pass through us.
Question for Meditation:
Where in my life am I being invited to choose love instead of distance or judgment?
Scripture:
“Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.” — 1 John 4:7 (NRSVCE)
For Further Reading: If you enjoyed this post, you may also like Lectio: Imperative Forgiveness
Leave a Reply