Loving Others The Way God Loves Us

By Fr. Roy Cimagala

THIS was clearly spelled out in the First Letter of St. John. “If God has so loved us, we also ought to love one another.” (4,11) Christ himself, of course, specified it beforehand when he, before ascending into heaven, said it as the new commandment. “As I have loved you, so you must love one another.” (Jn 13,34)

We are meant for loving the way God loves all of us. It’s a love that has a universal scope. Even if it is not reciprocated, that love continues to burn. Christ himself said that we should love even our enemies. (cfr. Mt 5,44) Given that clear indication of his, we have reason to claim that God even loves the devils.

God cannot hate anyone, because everyone is a creature of his. But he, of course, distinguishes between the creatures whom he will always love and the creatures’ acts which can go against God’s will. He always loves the creatures but always condemns the creatures’ sinful deeds.

The secret of having the same love God has for us and for everyone and everything else is to see to it that we give our whole heart to him. Let us remember that it is in our heart that the image and likeness of God is imprinted. We should never think that our heart is just of our own making. It comes from God and is meant to be where we assume our true identity and dignity as God’s children, sharers of his life and nature.

Thus, on several occasions we hear God begging for our heart. In the Book of Proverbs we can read this passage, “My child, give me your heart and let your eyes delight in my ways.” (23,26) And Christ reiterated the same truth when he told the one who asked him what the greatest commandment was—that it is to “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” (Mt 22,37)

We should just learn how to give our heart to God through Christ in the Holy Spirit. By so doing we assume the very identity of Christ and the dignity proper to us, which is to be a child of God, sharing the very life and nature of God.

Indeed, what is proper to us is to pursue that overwhelming duty to assume the very identity of Christ to the point that in any given moment, in any given situation, we would be looking, understanding, acting and reacting as Christ would. No matter how awkward we feel about this duty, and no matter how inconsistent we can be in this regard, we should just try and try, never giving up.

Anyway, we are also told by St. Paul that “He who began a good work in you will also be the one to bring it to completion.” (Phil 1,6) Ours is simply to try and try, as far as we can, which of course would require of us deep and solid faith and humility.

To be sure, every time we assume Christ’s identity in any situation, we somehow can manage to see things more clearly and to develop and live the virtues that flow from God’s true love, virtues like patience, compassion, affection, etc.

We should just disregard the many hecklers who can hound us along the way. They are unavoidable, given our wounded condition and the enemies of God and our soul. Let’s just proceed to do what God want of us—to give our whole heart to him!

Email: roycimagala@gmail.com