Lectio:
“Prayer is nothing else but the application of the heart to God, and the interior exercise of love.”
— Jeanne Guyon, A Short and Easy Method of Prayer
Meditatio:
“Thomas Merton once said at the monastery, ‘We’re all walking around with a secret little list inside. Once I stop doing this and this and this and this, God and I will really get close. Once I begin to do this and this and this, God and I will really get close.’ He said, ‘The thing is to realize with God there’s no list. It’s already finished. It’s already over. God’s infinitely in love with you forever and ever and ever.’”
— James Finley, Turning to the Mystics, Season 8, Ep. 4
If we are already infinitely loved by God, if there is absolutely nothing we can do to earn or to lose His love, what exactly are we supposed to do with our lives?
Jesus tells us we are supposed to love God back, and to love our neighbors, including our enemies, persecutors, and crucifiers, which is another way of loving God. (Matt. 22:37–39; Matt. 5:44)
That’s it. That’s our entire purpose in life. The whole reason we are here is to love God with all of our heart, mind, and strength, and to love our neighbors as ourselves. As Henri Nouwen says, “Life is just a little opportunity for you, during a few years, to say to God, ‘I love you too,’” thus completing the circle of love between God and us, creator and created, lover and beloved, which, without our consent and reciprocation, remains open and unfulfilled.
God wants to be in relationship with us. He wants to spend time with us and for us to want to spend time with Him — to talk with Him and listen to Him, and to get to know Him and all of the ways His love manifests in and as our lives. And that relationship requires trust. It requires us to set aside our selfish desires, to let go of our resentments, envy, jealousy, and hatred, and to allow His love to unfold in our lives, without protest, interference, or rebellion. He wants to show us how much He loves us, and for us to receive His love in all of its abundance and goodness. (Ps. 46:10; Phil. 4:7)
God also wants our participation. Love, after all, is not just a noun — something we have. It is also a verb — something we must do. He wants us to love as He loves, and His love is self-emptying, self-sacrificing, and incarnational. (Phil. 2:7; John 3:16) That is, God’s love gives itself completely to and for others, without thought of reciprocity, recognition, or reward, and God’s love is physical, embodied, and as real as you or I.
To love as God loves, then, is to give our lives to and for others, to sacrifice our time, energy, and attention on the healing, teaching, and feeding of those who are hurt, lost, lonely, hungry, and needy — not only physically, but emotionally and spiritually as well. (Matt. 25:35–36)
To love as God loves is to be an outpouring source of goodness in the world, to create wholeness where there is brokenness, and to do so unselfishly — to give away our earthly treasures, our gifts, talents, and time, and to store up our eternal treasure in heaven, in, through, and for love. (Matt. 6:19–21)
And yet, none of this, absolutely none of it, will earn us God’s love, because we already have it. As Merton said, “It’s already finished. It’s already over. God’s infinitely in love with you forever and ever and ever.”
Our task, then, is simply to not say no to the love that already is — to be still of heart, and to be loved, and to be love. (1 John 4:19; Rom. 8:38–39)
Oratio:
My dear sweet child,
your creativity,
your sincerity,
your generosity
amaze me.
I am in awe
of the light in you
that shines through all that you do.
Never sacrifice your enthusiasm
for the false comfort of security.
Do not lose your smile
to cynicism.
Let your laughter be heard by all,
echoing the angels’ song.
Allow your ideas to flow freely
like a mountain stream
watering the flowers
in the valley below.
Never change,
sweet child —
never change.
Contemplatio:
If you already have God’s infinite love — not as something to earn or protect, but as something you simply are held within — what would it mean to stop saying no to it, and how might that change the way you love others today?
Related Scripture:
“We love because he first loved us… Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God.”
— 1 John 4:19 ; 1 John 4:7
For Further Reading:
If you enjoyed this post, you nay also like Moved To Love; Moved Through Love: Growing in Trust and Love Through God’s Unfolding Presence
Robert Van Valkenburgh
Grappling With Divinity.
Wrestling With God
Returning To Love.
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