wanna do something amazing?

then LOVE!

http://www.usccb.org/nab/today.shtml (july 24 if you happen not to read this today)

once again, God (through Jeremiah), the psalmist, and Jesus are telling us not to put God in a box. God knows no limits. and brothers and sisters, GOD is LOVE. and love is not a feeling or an emotion. love is not just a word to be thrown out casually. it's not a picture of a heart. love means giving yourself freely, totally, faithfully, and fruitfully. when a couple gets married, these four things determine whether or not you will be approved to marry in the Catholic Church. but you might be wondering, i'm not getting married now! what does this have to do with me?

Jesus didn't get married, but he gave free (John 10:18), total (John 13:1), faithful (Matthew 28:20), and fruitful (John 10:10) love.

FREE
love everybody! after all, God has only given us one kind of person to love: sinners!

TOTAL
love "until the end." if your love is not matched with love from another brother or sister, they can't stop you from offering up a prayer for them. it might seem like the last-ditch effort, but isn't intercession one of the most loving acts you can offer up for someone anyway?

FAITHFUL
can't stop, won't stop *dancing, dancing* haha i don't know what that song is really about. but you can't stop! here's what my good friend Rommel said that Mother Teresa says: "I have found the paradox that if I love until it hurts, then there is no hurt, but only more love." if your love is not returned in the way that you gave it, God will be faithful to return your love in Heaven.

FRUITFUL
this should be called ACTION! love without action is fruitless (1 Corinthians 13:1-3)! let's break down the following statement: "I LOVE YOU!"
-I is a (proper) noun (and therefore, requires capitalization)
-LOVE is a........ (are you having trouble? move on for now)
-YOU is a noun
if "I LOVE YOU" is a complete sentence, it needs a verb; an action word. and if you already have 2/3 words being nouns, LOVE is a... VERB!!!

this is why Isaiah said they look but do not see and hear but do not listen or understand. whether it's because the Israelites didn't love God, themselves, or each other, their lack of love (verb) closed their eyes and ears.

when we don't have God=love in our lives, it's so easy to ignore the incredible plans that God has made for us. i think one of those things that i've often ignored is God's discipline. but Hebrews 12:5 says that the Lord loves those whom he disciplines. in those moments when i'm putting up my wall of pride, i'm not letting God be God.

so how does this relate to other people? well we're vessels of God's love. so sisters, guard the love in your hearts. brothers, protect your sisters' hearts as well as your own. Louis did a really good job and translating this statement (and the entire point of this message): "If you love someone you desire the best for them; Heaven. So you have to show the person that sin is bad, even if they do not see love in your words, keep in mind the final goal."

for our own purposes, we need to understand that sin is our decision to reject God=love. it closes our spiritual eyes, plugs up our spiritual ears. but when our ears and eyes are restored by God, we understand that God=love knows no limits.

GOD is LOVE
-rev run hahaha