The Law of Love
Lately, the law of love has been pressing on my heart.
As God invites us to be part of His people, He calls us to love. Time and again, we have been told to love our brothers and sisters with the same love God fills our hearts with. This message has almost become cliché and meaningless.
But it has also become overlooked and ignored.
Our God does not call us to sentimental or convenient love; He calls us to messy, genuine, humble love that overcomes division, selfishness, and rivalry. He calls us to love that is unrestrained and life-giving. This love should not be tainted by life’s responsibilities.
As Catholics, we are often known for being preoccupied with rules. The Church has obligations that we all devote ourselves to. We individually develop routines of prayer. Sometimes, it can be so easy to focus more on checking things off of our list than on loving our God and His people.
And, while devoting ourselves to our duties as Catholics is so important, we cannot let it consume us more than love does. When we value teachings, laws, and pretense Christianity, we completely disregard our call as God’s children.
We all know 1 Corinthians 13:4-8. We have heard it countless times. The verses provide us with a definition of love, listing traits and giving us examples of habits that are not rooted in love. Do we concretely understand what it means for us to love, though? Can we personally identify the areas in our lives that lack love?
Love is patient, love is kind. It is not jealous, [love] is not pompous, it is not inflated, it is not rude, it does not seek its own interests, it is not quick-tempered, it does not brood over injury, it does not rejoice over wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. // 1 Corinthians 13:4-8
Let’s dive deeper.
In order to answer our call to become love, we must bear patience, especially when it is difficult. We must not be envious or arrogant or rude. Even when it is tempting to self-seek, we must submit to the will of our Lord and serve others. We must overcome irritability and resentfulness. We must rejoice in the truth rather than being pleased with sin. Upon encountering wrongdoings, we must approach others with compassion. We must endure misfortune with grace. Despair must surrender to hope.
We cannot regularly indulge in uncharitable practices and expect to flourish simply because we follow the rules. We cannot continue tp practice virtue merely when it is convenient because that is not love. In Micah 6, the prophet writes about how God does not expect burnt offerings or thousands of rams or streams of oil. He says, “you have been told, O mortal, what is good, and what the Lord requires of you: Only to do justice and to love goodness, and to walk humbly with your God.”
God asks us to tenderly radiate His charity. So, may we focus less on scrupulously dotting our i’s and crossing our t’s in order to turn toward authentic love.