How aware are we that to know God is to express love to others?
1 John 4:8
To know God is to know that God is love. To love God with all our being; thoughts, feelings, and actions is to be in communion with God. When we are united with God in love we easily express God’s love to others we encounter. Just as Jesus gave up his entire self for our sake, so we too serve others unconditionally for our love of God. Because God humbly serves out of love, we too serve others with the same love.
To not know the love God has for us is to not see God. All the gifts, protection, care and guidance God is always providing is for our sake. To brush it aside is to hide from God’s love and mercy. When we learn how Jesus sacrificed himself completely for each and everyone of us is to begin to understand God.
But it is not enough that we know about Jesus and God dying at the cross. We need to give ourselves in service to others out of love. We need to express the love of God to others. If we don’t express love then we still do not know God. Although we may read the bible or go to church we may still be without God. To not love is to not know God.
The challenge is to continually live a life of loving others as Jesus did. Because even when we have times of loving our neighbors, the other times when we fall short of caring for others make us move away from God. The more we habitually fail to love others the more we begin to lose sight of God. Only by catching our shortcomings and asking God for forgiveness can we remain close to God and rely on God’s mercy. In relying on God’s mercy hopefully we can understand God’s love more and try again to express the same love to others.
Let us continue to express the love that God is and grow closer to knowing God. For the more we live our lives like Jesus the more we walk in union with Christ. And as Jesus carried his cross to Calvary we too offer ourselves to God and others; in our love for God and the world. Only when we join Jesus in giving himself entirely out of love to others do we truly enter into communion with God.
Related Reflections
Jesus is Our Lord • Luke 6:46
Are we fulfilling God’s commandments or just pretending that we are?
