What does it mean to love as a Christian?
We are ordinary people called to follow an extraordinary example. We are called to love as Jesus loves, as God loves. A simple act, an easy choice, but a hurdle that keeps coming our way.
“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
John 13: 34-35
How can we love as He loves? Seems daunting.
We need to heal our broken hearts. Our human hearts break so easily. When we don’t seek healing, the wound stays open and can quickly fester. The hurting becomes a habit.
When we see ourselves as victims, there’s no room for love.
The salve that heals all wounds comes from a deeper relationship with God and from receiving the love that pours from the Sacred Heart of Jesus, His selfless sacrifice.
“Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”
John 15: 13
Healing comes from trusting God and leaving judgment and justice in His hands.
Acceptance and forgiveness are steps on the path toward healing.
Jesus’ great self-sacrifice showed us a clear, bold example of what it means to submit to God’s will, to love fully even those who betray and deny you, even when your heart is broken.
Jesus showed us there’s a greater purpose behind intense hurt.
“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”
John 3:16
How can we love fully with a broken heart?
Jesus’ very human heart was broken. The betrayal and denial, the rejection, the fear of His friends and followers, and the cruelty of His enemies surprised Him.
His cup was set before Him, and He drank it freely.
He freely gave His life and His heart. Jesus was not a victim of the circumstances. He actively participated in His passion.
But we feel too weak to love through our suffering. That’s because we still want to believe that human love and suffering are incompatible, but they’re not. Suffering is part of love.
The Sacred Heart of Jesus is a heart burning with love, a heart that hurts deeply, yet remains open to Love. When our hearts feel like they’re about to give up, we must hold on and remember that we can always find shelter and rest in His heart, the heart that endured.
Ordinary human love and everyday suffering get us closer to the extraordinary expression of Love that is God. God is Love.
“Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.”
1 John 4: 7-8
Know God, Know Love
We are called to a greater expression of love, the greatest. We are being called back to God. It’s that simple, but it’s not that easy.
God is pure Love. Our first parents stepped out of that Love long ago. They rejected that Love for a self-centered, selfish kind of love. We are here to learn how to love again.
We are here to relearn how to love as God loves. And Jesus taught us that Love is expressed through Charity and Mercy.
This means loving God above all things and our neighbor as ourselves, out of love for God. This means showing kindness, compassion, and forbearance; aiding others in their bodily or spiritual needs through charitable actions or works of mercy; and instructing, advising, comforting, forgiving, feeding, clothing, visiting, and sheltering. (CCC 1822, 2447)
We are to be instruments of Love, to magnify Love.
Each of us was formed to extend God’s Love, so Love can act in the human world through good works and ordinary miracles.
We are meant to be ordinary people, showing extraordinary Love.
“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.”
1 Corinthians 13: 4-8
To love as a Christian means to love deeply and fully with a broken heart. To offer our broken hearts to God, so His Love can be manifest in this world. Yes, with the pieces of our broken hearts, the Lord can do wonderful things.
As Christians, we love because we know (Jesus revealed to us) that a broken heart can not only heal but also expand through Love. It might not be simple or easy, but the choice is always yours.
My dear friend, I hope you choose Love.
If you like to ponder these subjects, join us as we tend and grow these humble mustard seeds. We hope you’ll be inspired to sow your own. Come back weekly and follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and X.
Leave a Reply