The New Commandment
Divine Intimacy #262
I’ve spoken much about loving others with the heart of Jesus. And this has been a difficult virtue to speak about.
There is much about hating, “I hate this guy, or I hate that woman, she/he/they did ________.” Many people can be this way, so when we are legitimately hurt by another, what should we do? Are we to lay down and roll over, accepting this treatment? No. Jesus told the sinner, I forgive you; now go and sin no more. He gave them a pass when we heard Him say, “My mercy endures forever.”
You don’t have to have a theological degree to understand what Jesus is saying. As an apostle, do we do this or go on gossiping with another about them? Jesus gives us this new commandment: “Love one another as I have loved you.” He means all of us, those we like and those we dislike, and all of us who think we are loving when we aren’t. I admit, it’s a hard lesson to learn, and I am often guilty of not loving. But every day Jesus extends that mercy, because He knows our concupiscence and our tendency to please ourselves rather than God by following His Son in all ways but this one.
We let our emotions push past God’s will. We desire justice now, instead of by God, in heaven, and let our wounds dictate our actions. So our lesson is to let charity prevail. By. this, we will be known as His disciples, and penetrate the secret of God’s infinite love for us. Jesus loves us, and we need to try to love our neighbor as He does. He may use it to draw us closer, because He loves us so very much, and just as we are, in spite of our sins.