Friday, October 16
As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love…This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.
—John 15:9, 12
God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God, and God abides in them.
—1 John 16b
You and I don't have to be afraid anymore. We don't have to feel alienated, or worried. When you know deep down in your bones—it's all love.
Gerald May wrote:
Searching beneath anxiety, one will find fear. And beneath fear hurt will be discovered. Beneath the hurt will be guilt. Beneath the guilt lie rage and hatred. But do not stop with this, for beneath the rage lies frustrated desire. Finally, beneath and beyond desire, is love. In every feeling, look deeply. Explore without ceasing. At bottom, love is. Realizing this, need one do anything about the anxiety one feels?
—Simply Sane, p. 87
The only question is whether we are able to see the love that is already there. Whether we are awake, aware of love. It's like being in the atmosphere of air. "We exist, as one, immersed in love, more deeply than in the air we breathe." (Ibid, p. 86)
We've only got two choices—to be conscious or unconscious of the love we live in. What would the next thirty minutes be like if you let yourself be in love? See everyone with the eyes of love—especially yourself. Experience everything through the filter of love. Recognize everything, even the rotten stuff, as having its origin in love and most certainly returning finally to love. Try that for thirty minutes and see what happens.
The old apostle John is telling us that it's really that simple. Hard, maybe, but simple. To abide in love is joy. It's also the most real thing you can do. Because God is love.
Loving God, open our awareness that we may awaken to your love, abide in your love, live in your love. Amen.
These Signposts were originally published on explorefaith.org in 2005.
