The Love of Jesus

   “In comparison to the love of Jesus, everything else is secondary.  And without the love of Jesus everything else is useless.”  St. John Paul II

   I’ve often wondered how it is that God could love me as much as He does.  What makes me worthy of that love?  Why does He choose to love me when so many times I have failed in my efforts to follow His way?  The answer can be found in our Lord Jesus Christ.  If we look at His life we can begin to understand the depth of love God has for us.

  Nothing we have done and nothing we can do will ever make us worthy of the love of Jesus.  The beautiful thing is that He knows that and loves us anyway.  His love exceeds all bounds and is eternal.  We can do nothing to increase His love and nothing we do can cause Him to stop loving us.

   Throughout His life on earth everything Jesus did He did out of love.  He forgave the sinners because He loved them.  He healed those in need of healing because He loved them.  Even those he rebuked He rebuked with love that only desired their conversion and their faith in Him.  Given the opportunity He would have forgiven even Judas’s betrayal if only Judas had repented and asked.

   Love is a word that is very misused in our world.  We speak of love for many things but rarely understand the true depth and meaning of the word.  We can look to Jesus, beaten, bloody and hanging on the cross and see what true love is.  It is the willingness to sacrifice all for another.  It is not only sacrificial it is the desire to sacrifice for the benefit of others.  Husbands and wives sacrifice for each other; parents sacrifice for their children.  These self-giving acts of love are what the Father, Son and Holy Spirit offer in perfection.  As we try to mirror that love in our own lives, we can begin to understand how much He loves us.

   “Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.”  (John 15:13)