Sunday, July 5, 2020
![God-is-Love[1]](https://thenoontimes.files.wordpress.com/2013/06/god-is-love1.jpg?w=300&h=188)
God is Love
We have come to know and to believe in the love God has for us. God is love, and whoever remains in love remains in God and God in him. In this is love brought to perfection among us, that we have confidence on the day of judgment because as he is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear because fear has to do with punishment, and so one who fears is not yet perfect in love. We love because he first loved us.
We have the idea that “love” means we have no doubts or fears, that we are constantly positive and fulfilled. We also believe that “perfection” means that we must never err, never waver, never give in to our desire to control. John tells us that God’s love does not punish but rather drives out fear . . . and in this there is perfection.
God says: I know that the world is a distressing place but you need not fear for your eternal life. I want to calm all the big and little anxieties that beset you. I want to heal all the big and little ways in which you reject me. I know that you strive for perfection in that you try to always “be good” and this is not what I ask of you. What I ask is this: Love me as I love you; love others rather than hate them; and in this you will find perfection. I do not ask that you do not err. What I ask is this: When you err, come to me; when others err, forgive them and pray for them. In this way you will rest peacefully. In this way you will come to know my perfection.
In our interconnected world when all that goes wrong floats to the top of the headlines, we frighten ourselves and build walls to keep ourselves safe and “others” out. In this we fail to see that the “others” are also God’s children. In our rush to be “perfect” we try to manipulate our circumstances and to control others. In this we fail to see that true perfection comes from filtering all we say and do through the Gospel and in loving those who harm us. In our desire to be “good” we create and follow rules that apply to all of humanity in the name of the common good. In this we fail to see that each of us in created in God’s image . . . and that God is Love.
Enter the phrase God is Love in the blog search bar and continue to reflect on the meaning of God’s Love.
Image from: https://lifehopeandtruth.com/god/who-is-god/god-is-love/
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