May 12 - 52 - John 13:34

Jesus said,

"A new command I give you:

Love one another.

As I have loved you,

so you must love one another."

John 13:34

Bible Rank: 52

 

I’ve written of God’s love lately … and I’ve recently written of human love too. Therefore, I’m going to let you hear another voice on “loving one another” today – the great modern contemplative, Henri Nouwen.

 

In this passage he’s explaining why “so many are angry” nowadays.

 

Why?

 

Because, he says, “they cannot forgive people for offering only limited expressions of an unlimited love.”

 

Wait. Stop for a moment. “Unpack” that. He says, “God’s love is unlimited, but people’s love is not.” And what we get so angry about in our lives … in our families … in our marriages … about our world … is that people are “not … God.”

 

We want …

 

·         their character to be perfect …

·         their love to be unlimited …

·         their patience to be eternal …

·         their generosity to be abundant …

·         and their forgiveness immediate.  

 

“The interesting thing,” says Nouwen, “is that when you can forgive people for not being God …”

 

Wait! Stop again. Sit for that a minute! Are you mad at someone because they’re not God?! … that they’re not perfect?! … that they’re not satisfying your every need?!

 

They’re not supposed to! They’re not God! And if you’re looking for any human to fill most every need, then you have a false god!

 

So here’s the conclusion of the quote: “The interesting thing is that when you can forgive people for not being God, then you can celebrate that they are …” – what? – “… a reflection of God.” In other words, when you can forgive them for not being God, you can begin to see what God sees in them.

 

In Christ’s Love,

a guy who’s not God

but sees God in a lot of people