It All Begins With Love

It all begins with love.

Out of love, God created the universe with all its wonders. He wanted to give us a world which would provide for all our needs. Reflecting on the vast oceans, the towering mountains and the lush rainforests, we glimpse the power and goodness of our Heavenly Father. The shear diversity of life on our planet is a reflection of the beautiful imagination of our God.

Out of love, God created each one of us. No matter what the circumstances of our birth or our family, we were all meant by God to exist. Our soul was created directly by our Heavenly Father at the time of our conception. At that moment, He knew us, loved us and gave us a purpose which only we could fulfill. No one of us is an accident. No one of us was not meant to be here. Rather, we were created to experience God’s love in this life and to enjoy eternal life with Him in heaven. As Saint Paul tells us in his letter to the Ephesians, “For we are his handiwork, created in Christ Jesus for the good works that God has prepared in advance, that we should live in them.”

Out of love, God sent His only Son, Jesus Christ, to die for us. Because of our sins, we had rejected His offer of love. As we hear in today’s first reading from the Second Book of Chronicles, “the people added infidelity to infidelity.” God sent His prophets to call the people back to Him but, as we also hear in the first reading, “...they mocked the messengers of God, despised his warnings and scoffed at his prophets.” In one last effort to reach us, God sent Jesus. His death paid the debt we owed because of our sinful behavior and made it possible that, with a clean slate, we could experience salvation and eternal life. Saint Paul tells us in the second reading, “God, who is rich in mercy, because of the great love he had for us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, brought us to life with Christ.”

Salvation and eternal life are God’s gifts to us in Christ. No one of us deserves it. It is not a reward for the good we have done. It is not a result of our sincere intentions. Rather, it is simply God’s free choice motivated by His great love. As Saint Paul goes on to tell us in today’s second reading, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not from you; it is the gift of God; it is not from works, so no one may boast.”

The great love God has shown us in giving us this vast and beautiful world, in creating us and in saving us through Jesus Christ requires a response from us. How are we to reply to our Heavenly Father’s invitation? The proper response is faith. The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches us that “Faith is man’s response to God, who reveals himself and gives himself to man...” [26]. Jesus tells us in today’s gospel that He came so that “everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life.”

Responding with faith means believing that God loves us. It requires accepting the forgiveness of sins and gift of salvation that is ours through Jesus Christ.  When we have faith, we make the hope of eternal life the driving force of our lives here on earth.

Like salvation, faith is a pure gift of God. It was first given to us in baptism and its roots ran deeper in us through the other sacraments we received. Like other virtues, the more we put it to use by praying, struggling against temptation, studying and doing good, the stronger it becomes. If our faith seems weak or even if we think we have no faith, all we need to do is ask God and He will give it to us. He will be happy to give it to us because His great desire is that we enjoy all the gifts He has for us. Also, if we desire faith, it is because God’s Holy Spirit is already preparing our hearts to receive it.

As a response to God’s love, faith is more than saying, “I believe”. Imagine professing your undying love to the man or woman of your dreams and having him or her say in return, “I believe you love me.” Wouldn’t that break your heart? What you want to hear instead is, “I love you too.” And that is exactly what God wants to hear, not only that we believe in Him but that we love Him in return.

The fact is, if we do not love God in return, then we do not really believe. If we do not want  to learn more about Jesus through reading the Scriptures, then we do not really have faith in Him as the Son of God. If we do not desire to receive Him in the Eucharist, then we do not really believe He came down from heaven. If we do not love our neighbor as ourselves, then we do not really believe that all of us are made in His image and likeness. Love is faith translated into action.

Like faith, love is a gift of God. If it seems as though our hearts have grown cold, all we need to do is ask our Heavenly Father to rekindle the fire of love within us. We were created to love. In love we find our deepest meaning and fulfillment. Because He loves us, God wants nothing more than to set our hearts ablaze with charity. And, if we desire it, it is already God’s Holy Spirit preparing our hearts to receive it.

The good news is that “God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life.” The question is, do you believe? And, do you live out your belief by loving others? If so, we are already experiencing eternal life. If not, all we need to do is ask God for it.

It all begins and ends with love.