““You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”” Matthew 22:37-39
“God IS Love” 1 John 4:8
Most ever Christian knows these initials – What Would Jesus Do? (WWJD).
Many ask this question when trying to follow Jesus in order to act like He would act.
The sun doesn’t act as a light, it is light – nothing the sim does not can do is anything but light. As such, Jesus IS Love – He doesn’t do acts of love, He is simply Love. Everything Jesus did in His ministry and everything before and since is Love. Period.
We are not called to follow Jesus, we are called to BE Jesus in our world.
“The fruits of charity are joy, peace, and mercy; charity demands beneficence and fraternal correction; it is benevolence; it fosters reciprocity and remains disinterested and generous; it is friendship and communion: Love is itself the fulfillment of all our works. There is the goal; that is why we run: we run toward it, and once we reach it, in it we shall find rest.” Catechism of the Catholic Church # 1829
All our works need to be of love for then Love is the fulfillment of all our works. The goal is to be Jesus, not to act like Him. The goal is to be His hands, feet and voice in our world, not simply a parrot of His words.
When we can move past echoing Jesus into being Jesus on earth, the world will change around us. Like a ripple the waves of love will reach out to distant shores and effect many souls.
This is the final stage of surrender which we mentioned yesterday – this is when Jesus take us into His masterfully skilled hands and shines Himself through the music that resonates from our actions.
“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you; abide in my love.” And again: “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.” John 15:9-10
The Father loves Jesus with His whole life. The Son gives this love back fully. The Spirit is Himself this life that is given and poured out. To go to this level of surrender mean to give one’s life fully – to die (to self). No fear of this death – give yourself in full surrender now. Why not say now what Jesus did?
“For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life in order to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it up again. I have received this command from my Father.” John 10:17-18
Lay down your life now before Jesus, let Him take it up. Give God permission to play the music of His Divine Will through your life. Be Jesus – be love. it is then that we will understand and live Matthew 22:37-39.