"love, then, consists in this" (1 jn 4:10)
"Love is of God." —1 John 4:7
We are to love God with all our hearts, all our souls, all our minds, and all our strength (Lk 10:27). We must love our neighbors as ourselves (Lk 10:27) and love even our enemies (Mt 5:44). Nevertheless, love does not consist in "that we have loved God, but that He has loved us and has sent His Son as an Offering for our sins" (1 Jn 4:10). "We, for our part, love because He first loved us" (1 Jn 4:19). The meaning of life is not that we are loving but that "God is Love" (1 Jn 4:8, 16). His love is the source of life; our love is the response to His love. His love is infinite; ours is finite. His love is divine; ours can, at best, be a share in His divinity (2 Pt 1:4). God cannot love us more, for His love is perfect, while we have only begun to love. Only His "love makes the world go 'round'." Only His love is stronger than death.
Therefore, let us not think of ourselves or our love as much as we think of God Who is Love. Let us be preoccupied with, immersed in, and baptized in His love. Let us abide in love and in God, while He abides in us (1 Jn 4:16). Live in Love (see Jn 15:10).
Prayer: Father, from this Christmas season, may I "grasp fully, with all the holy ones, the breadth and length and height and depth of Christ's love" (Eph 3:18).
Promise: "Justice shall flower in His days, and profound peace, till the moon be no more." —Ps 72:7
Praise: Jesus has permanently healed Susan of her depression.
Reference: (For related teaching, order our tape on Love, on video V-58 or audio AV 58-1.)
Nihil Obstat: Reverend Robert L. Hagedorn, May 30, 2001
Imprimatur: †Most Reverend Carl K. Moeddel, Vicar General and Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, June 4, 2001