Know God’s Love Through Serving Each Other

Acts 10:25-26, 34-35, 44-48

1 John 4:7-10

John 15:9-17

Divine Inspiration

Today is all about one of my favorite topics – love!  In the Gospel, Jesus gives us his famous and only commandment – to love one another as He loves us.  And in the new testament reading, John says let us love one another because love is of God.  There seems to be all this love swirling around!  But what happens when we don’t necessarily, “feel the love?”  It’s great to hear how much God loves us – that He sent His only son.  And it’s truly awesome that Christ loved us so much that He died on the cross for us.  So, if we don’t really feel it, truly feel it in our hearts, does that mean that we’ve somehow, by some weird twist of fate, been left out of the loop?  Could God have accidentally missed us?

There is a very important line in the New Testament reading.  It says, “Whoever is without love does not know God.”  Think about this.  It is not saying that God only loves some.  It is not saying that only some have God’s love and others don’t.  I’ll read it again.  “Whoever is without love does not know God.”  The accountability here is on us.  God ALWAYS loves us.  That never, ever changes.  Ever.  God has told us and shown us over and over that He loves us.  But relationships go in two directions, not one.  And it is up to us to say, “OK, God, I want to know You and I want to feel your love.”  And, even then, after we say it, we have to do more.  We have to talk with God every day, multiple times a day.  And then, we have to take it a step further.  We have to – MUST – love each other.  We must look for ways to serve and see God in each other.  Because, in serving each other, we are serving God and building that relationship with Him.

I have one final thought on loving and serving God through serving each other.  In the very first reading today, Cornelius, upon meeting Peter, fell to his knees before Peter.  Cornelius was honoring Peter, his way of loving.  And, Peter said, ‘Get up, I am also a human being.’  Peter, who could have fed his ego, chose instead to love and connect with Cornelius.  Peter even went on to say that ‘God shows no partiality.’  This is how we need to be with everyone we know and meet every day.  When we are complimented and honored by others, it is important to keep the ego in check and return the compliment, honor and love that are flowing our way to the person from whom it is flowing.  And, as we focus on loving each other, we will feel God’s loving arms wrapping around us, too.

Amen.

Readings and Divine Inspiration from Sunday, May 10, 2015