Love one another as I Have loved you!

 Allowing our actions to be generated from the heart is at the core of the Gospel. This is why we are called to spend time in prayer so that we may discover God's desire for us. So often the word love covers multiple levels of meaning which are not just about how we feel but what moves us into action for the good of others not just ourselves. CS Lewis probably noted this in his book, "The Four Loves" which are expressed in the Greek as Storge (Empathy), Philia (Friendship), Eros (Romance), and Agape (Unconditional love of God) which he explores in his book, "Until we have Faces" (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Four_Loves). What is the heart of this exploration is that we are called to fall in love with God not just with our human needs. This allows us to discover a love that is generative and self-giving which matures at different stages of life.

This is how we are called to be in prayer where we are called to recognize in silence the depth of God's love for us. So often we believe that God loves us only when we receive what we pray for. However, God's prayerful desire for us is much more substantial than this. There is a desire that in all things our life will unfold with that often hidden desire which echoes within for the good of God, the good of others, and the good of ourselves. This is often the struggle we encounter in our Christian life because we try to limit God's involvement in our life to the immediate necessity rather than the unfolding story of the whole of creation.

Thus the love of God calls us to be open to what transforms us from the inside out. It allows us to encounter a God who reaches into every area of our life not as a puppeteer or managing director but rather as a close friend who empathizes with us and captures our hearts. This enables us so we can befriend others with unconditional love. This calls us to be our true selves and express our actual faces not the masks we put on to pretend to be something we are not. God desires for us to be who we are called to be. Thus creation finds its ultimate purpose and its reason for being.  The whole of creation is made new!