Crazy Love

The WORD today (See http://usccb.org/bible/readings/060713.cfm) reminds me how crazy God’s love for me is.

God loves us – even if we do not love him. that’s real love, not the one portrayed in the movies or teleseryes wherein one expects that love given be reciprocated. The second reading tells us – God proved his love for us, that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. He did not need us to know him and love him first before he died for us. He loves us, period. No ifs, no buts.

Just how crazy is God’s love for us?

He sent his only son to die for us. Well, in the gospel he uses a description we would be able to understand more. He is a shepherd willing to leave the 99 to find one lost sheep. Crazy, right? We probably wont do that, thinking that it’s impractical. Just take care of what’s left, anyway if you leave the 99 to look for the one that’s lost, one or more of those 99 left may go astray as well. Not only that, when he comes back, he calls his friends to celebrate. Ang labo, diba? Non sense. Probably in the world – but not to God’s standards. This reminds us that no matter how simple or normal we think we are, no matter how insignificant we may feel, or no matter how far we go away from Him, God sees us as important and is ready to look for us. That’s how special he thinks of us. That’s how crazy his love for us is.

However, love is not tolerance. If you really love a person, you will not tolerate everything the person is doing just so you can keep the peace or just so there wont be conflicts. This is the difference of real love – it is crazy and willing to make sacrifices for the other person. If you over protect someone, if you deny the imperfections and see them as perfect people, then you are not really loving them. You are not helping them improve in their service, in their faith, in their lives. Also in the reading, it says that “The strong I will destroy, shepherding them rightly.” Sometimes shepherding, or loving, entails pain, not because you hate the person, but because you love the person enough not to correct them.

May we be inspired by God’s crazy love for us, and live our lives loving others the best way we can.

Father God,

Thank you for today. thank you it’s Friday already! Lord, I thank you for the gift of good health. Thank you for blessing and protecting me, enabling me to serve you with a healthy body. I pray that as I serve you, you remind me to take care of my body, to not abuse my body, because I need this body as I work for you. Lord, thank you for loving me. Thank you for your crazy love for me. I pray that everytime I feel down, insecure or insignificant, I be reminded that you are always willing to leave the 99 to look for me – that’s how special I am in your eyes. And lord, as I love other people, I pray that you open my eyes to see how to love them best, even if it entails pain, and may I have the courage to fraternally correct others, founded in love. Amen.

Blessed day!

In Christ,

-g-