Friends of Christ

The readings today show us the nature of God and how we should respond to it.

The first reading shows us God as he is – forgiving, generous, compassion and loving. God has been that God since the beginning. His love is constant, it never changes. It is us humans who change. We ignore him. We sin. We choose follow the enemy instead of Him, and as a result of our actions and decisions, we wander away from God.

When we sin, God readily forgives. Yes, he is a God of justice, but he is merciful as well. He is kind and loving. He will readily forgive us our sins. We just have to be humble and be truly sorry for them. It is then that we will experience his mercy and love.

The gospel encourages us how we should live. After knowing how loving God really is, after experiencing his  forgiveness, after experiencing his love, we should also love him. His love should move us to love him back. Experiencing his great love should make us want to be friends of Christ – doing God’s will in our lives and obeying Christ’s commandments.

Have you experienced God’s love in your life? How? Are you allowing God to love you or is you heart shut to him? Are you a friend of Christ? How can you become one?

Dear God,

Thank you for your word. Thank you for who you are. Thank you for loving me. Lord, I see beauty in myself because you find me worthy to die for. Always remind me of that. May I always remember and feel how special I am, and as a result, may I always be moved to love and serve you as your friend, as your child. Amen.

Have a blessed day!

In Christ,

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