A Thought For The Week Of May 9, 2016

"...  keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life." (Jude 21) Maybe it's natural human selfishness and arrogance but when I first read the words "keep yourselves in the love of God," I immediately thought of myself and the benefits that I would get by doing so. There are no doubt many benefits to keeping ourselves in God's love and to remembering that God does, in fact love us. There's peace and hope and security and, as the verse points out, mercy and eternal life. These are all great gifts of God that we are constantly reminded of by Keeping ourselves in God's love. But somehow - and thankfully - I just as quickly remembered that faith should never be only or even primarily about ourselves. Besides, those who have faith in Jesus Christ don't have to worry about being in God's love. Our faith tells us that God loves us and that nothing will ever separate us from that divine love. So, if that's the case, then what's the point of keeping myself in God's love? Maybe this verse is serving as a reminder that as one who is in God's love and as one who knows that I am in God's love I must also live by the power of God's love and reflect God's love to those around me. Knowing that I'm loved  by God can actually have the opposite effect than God intends. I could choose to hoard God's love; to keep it to myself; to not share it; to be jealous of others who are loved by God because I think that God's love for others actually takes some of God's love away from me. Or I could choose to start thinking of myself as being better than others, or more special to God than others. Knowing that I am in God's love could cause me to become judgemental. All those things are possible. And all those things are to be avoided. If we are in God's love, we are to choose to share that love - by showing mercy and by proclaiming the hope of eternal life that God makes available. It's important for all of us to remember that - as with all things involving faith - being in God's love isn't intended primarily for my benefit; it's intended to make me active in seeking the best for others.