God’s Love and Christian Life - Part 2

“No one has ever seen God. Yet, if we love one another, God remains in us, and His love is brought to perfection in us” (1 John 4:12).

 My years of listening to stories in marriage counseling sessions have shown me the worst of what two people can inflict upon each other. Two people, sadly, who once promised to love one another. Their actions have destroyed their homes, children, and personal lives. Early in my carrier, I would sometimes, in thought only, find myself demonizing one of the spouses for their particular choices, nearly giving up on the couple as a hopeless cause. Through the grace of God, though, my heart began to see these couples differently. Instead of two failures, I instead saw two children of God, made in His image, who had been duped and broken by Satan. In this moment, they didn’t need reproach or chastisement. They needed compassion, firmness, direction, and most of all, hope. Often it takes this loving vision and guidance from another person to put couples on the path to healing and wholeness.

God is love. When we practice a true, self-denying love, God dwells within us and shines through us. This habit of sacrificial love for others, especially for our spouse, can help others concretely experience the love of God in a unique and personal way. We, His beloved children, are called to be instruments of His charity. As we grow in compassion, kindness, and joy, God’s love is perfected in us, transforming how we relate to our heavenly Father and to His children. We begin to see others through the eyes of Christ.

Speaking for myself, the more I have worked to love my wife and children with sacrificial love and humility, the more I have received that love and respect back from them. With every word of love and gratitude I hear from my wife and children, I am slowly starting to see the face of God more clearly.

ACTION STEP: This week, love your spouse and children for who they truly are: Children of God, made in His image.