On Loving

I guess it will always be a point of misunderstanding for a lot of people but this is what I know: I, as a Christian, was called to love. I was called to love with an active kind of love. Jesus did not die for me that I might lounge around everyday seeking every comfort life has to offer. NO. I was blessed with so much love and grace and mercy that I might stand up and do the same to others.

The truth is loving, with a Christian perspective, is tricky and at times, hurtful. Why? Because God did not call me to love with a passive acceptance of people for who they are and what they believe in. God challenges me (and everyday for that matter) to love actively, beckoning people to the truth, one that would set them free and enable them to live life to the full. God calls me to love people with the same kind of love that He gave me: the transforming kind of love.

Perfect Kind of Love

“But God showed His great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners” – Romans 5:8

I thank God that He loved me with so much love that while I was still this wretched human being undeserving of anyone’s love, He already died for me. As a selfish being by nature, I admit it is hard for me to understand why He would choose to do such a thing. But this much I can grasp, it is not for me to try and understand every bit of God’s love, rather it is for me to follow it.

This is what I know: God, in all his holiness and mightiness, gambled His life for me in the hopes that one day I will come to hear of what He did and ultimately, change me from the inside out. He walked on this earth sharing His teachings to everyone who would listen but did not force it on anyone’s throat. He loved everyone alike: he loved the fishermen and tax collector enough to call them as His disciples; he loved the prostitute enough not to condemn her; he loved the criminals on the cross enough to forgive one and accept the decision of the other to mock Him; he even loved the Pharisees enough to answer their questions [even if answering them is futile].

Love according to God’s actions is complicated and hard but it is the perfect example of love. His love is a love that is based not on the character of the beloved but rather on the character of the lover. God’s love emanates from Him because He is hopeful that the people He chose to die for will turn back to Him and lead a victorious life. His actions are not based on their current situations but on His dreams for them, on what He sees they can possibly be. And, this kind of love is the love that produced a lasting change in me.

I thank God that He loved me with so much love that while I was still this wretched human being undeserving of anyone’s love, He already died for me. I thank Him because He did not give up on me then and is not giving up on me now. I may be far from who God wants me to be but I know, His love will sustain me until I meet the person God sees in me. I thank God that His love is the hopeful, optimistic kind that doesn’t stop on who I am right now [physically, emotionally, spiritually, mentally] and I believe, this same kind of love is the love that can change anything: a person, a situation or even, a nation.

And in His love, I will remain hopeful…