Talk is cheap. It’s easy to say: “I care about you,” but someone who is insecure or has been hurt in the past may not believe you. He may well respond with a challenge: “Prove it!” It creates quite an ironic situation: It becomes very difficult to show love to the very person who so deeply needs it!
Isn’t that how we can be with God sometimes? Especially in those times when we don’t feel very lovable, we have a hard time believing that God’s love is complete and unconditional. This kind of love lies so far beyond our experience that we don’t dare believe it can be real, even though it’s just what we are longing for—and even though it’s exactly what we need. Instead of taking God at his word or quieting our hearts long enough to come in touch with his love, we turn away sadly. We may even “misbehave” in order to prove that he can’t possibly love us.
Jesus won’t argue with us about this, because his approach is long on loving actions, but short on declarations of love. He expresses his love far more “in deed and truth” than he does “in word and speech” (1 John 3:18). He shows his love by forgiving sins, healing sicknesses, welcoming outcasts, and restoring broken relationships. Only once in the Gospels did Jesus say: “I love you” (John 13:34). And even this declaration was sandwiched between two dramatic demonstrations of that love: He had just washed his disciples’ feet, and he was about to open his arms wide on the cross.
Do you want to know a secret? It’s going to happen again today! At some point in the day, God is going to show you how much he loves you. Somehow, he is going to send a personalized “love note” meant only for you. It may happen at Mass or during your prayer time. It may come in the form of help when you most need it, or it may come through a kind gesture from a friend. So keep your eyes and ears open. God loves you—immensely!
“Thank you, Jesus, for loving me unconditionally. Help me to receive that love today. Teach me how to build my life on it, too, as my one solid foundation.”
Psalm 100:1-5; John 1:43-51