What about Love?

This week in Advent we light the fourth and final candle, the candle of love. But we forget that there are four types of love. The love that is mentioned everyone thinks as amorous love. But in fact, the readings used for this Sunday in all three cycles, either draw us to the love of God, or the love of a parent, which are equal.

People wrongly think that God’s love is conditional. This was taught to an entire generation. You must be “free from sin” or free from perputating sin to be in God’s love and good graces. But that simply can not happen. We are human, we are going to error or commit sin from time to time. Yes, it is important to recognize those moments, but sin itself can not stop God from loving us. If God truly loved the world so much that he sent Jesus for us, his child, then it should bring us comfort that God loves us that much.

So our job is to try to love like God. Meaning, we show our compassion and caring. People get this wrong too, thinking they have to forgive and build a relationship with abusers. But showing love sometimes is being out of contact with those that cause us harm. Showing love, is also treating people who are down and out and lost semblance of humanity, like human beings.

This Christmas, show love, take care of yourselves and those around you. Matt+