LOVE thy neighbor.
A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another.
John 13:34
Dear Small Group,
Do you know that you are the image of God? Do you know that God dwells in each of you? Maybe you do not always see it. Maybe you sometimes feel like you are not enough or too much or awkward or shy. Maybe you feel like you are nothing special or you get lost in the crowd. But I see it. I have seen it since the day I met you. I see it in your goofy smiles and your unique hang ups. I see it in your willingness to love and your hesitant ability to go out on a limb and share your deepest thoughts. When I see you, I see God.
Each of us has been given the most precious gift of Christ being alive within us. Of that, I am certain. Every single person was made in the likeness of God. But the challenge for us as Christians, as Catholics is to live a life that declares with every breath, Christ dwells in me.
We can do this, and probably are doing this in so many ways. We love our friends and families, we may serve the needy or give to the poor. Perhaps, we share our gifts at church or in school and I bet on a day to day basis you try to make the "right" choice. But the truth is, being a reflection of Christ and His love is going to cost us something. It is going to cost us every single decision we ever make. We cannot just make the right decisions when it is easy and then justify that as being enough. If we want to love the way God loved us, and if we want to live the life He has called us to we cannot just do it partially, we have to do it all the way.
So, where in the Ten Commandments does it say you cannot have sex before marriage? And why do we believe this anyways? The answer hit me on the forehead at mass tonight. It may not have been one of the official Ten Commandments, but it is the new commandment that Christ gives to us, "Love thy neighbor as I have loved you."
See, for me the whole thing is not about what we cannot do or what God is stopping us from doing. It is not even a "no, no, no". Saving ourselves for our spouse, is all about what we can do. It's about how God is showing us to love. It is, for our human hearts, the most complete form of loving the way Christ loved us.
Jesus lived His entire life to sacrifice Himself completely for us. Saving our bodies is the most amazing way we can make a sacrifice for love and for a spouse that we will fall in love with in the future. I think we have a misconception that love should be about what we get in return. What did Jesus get in return for loving us? You cannot hedge your bets on what a friend or a man or a woman or a person will do for you in response to your love. That's a future that's unknown to you. But you can hope in this, God calls us to love as He loves us. And sometimes that means sacrificing and waiting and giving completely of yourself, even if there is nothing certain in return except for the love of God.
My answer to you may be incomplete. But, God loves you and lives in you and His plans for your life are nothing less than amazing. His call for each of us is to love; freely, faithfully, fruitfully, and fully. This is the way He loves us. Having sex just for the sake of having sex or causally hooking up because it feels good, that is not love. And it is not how God calls us to live.
Sex is the ultimate way we have to express love and if you're not having it in response to a love that is complete, and fruitful, and faithful, and free well than, you're not loving the way God commands you to. You are simply using sex for your own selfish desires and quite frankly you are not even allowing yourself the love you deserve. Sure, in the short term it might be fun, but it leaves you broken.
God has given us the commandments for a reason. When we follow them, our lives become what He intended them to be. He wants more for you. He wants an over the moon, reach for the stars, crazy kind of love and He wants you to be able to give someone that kind of love completely through the Sacrament of Marriage.
So my prayer for you is that in your life, you settle for nothing less than to love and to search for love that is a beautiful reflection of the Lord's love for you. The fact that you even asked the question or pushed me for a deeper answer is the perfect evidence that the love of God has already captured your hearts and that He will be able to radiate His glory through you.
Thank you for pushing me towards Heaven and calling me to truly be bold in my faith. I know God has amazing things to share with the world through each of you. All we have to do is try our absolute best to love each other the way God loves us!
Love and prayers always,
Danielle
John 13:34
Dear Small Group,
Do you know that you are the image of God? Do you know that God dwells in each of you? Maybe you do not always see it. Maybe you sometimes feel like you are not enough or too much or awkward or shy. Maybe you feel like you are nothing special or you get lost in the crowd. But I see it. I have seen it since the day I met you. I see it in your goofy smiles and your unique hang ups. I see it in your willingness to love and your hesitant ability to go out on a limb and share your deepest thoughts. When I see you, I see God.
Each of us has been given the most precious gift of Christ being alive within us. Of that, I am certain. Every single person was made in the likeness of God. But the challenge for us as Christians, as Catholics is to live a life that declares with every breath, Christ dwells in me.
We can do this, and probably are doing this in so many ways. We love our friends and families, we may serve the needy or give to the poor. Perhaps, we share our gifts at church or in school and I bet on a day to day basis you try to make the "right" choice. But the truth is, being a reflection of Christ and His love is going to cost us something. It is going to cost us every single decision we ever make. We cannot just make the right decisions when it is easy and then justify that as being enough. If we want to love the way God loved us, and if we want to live the life He has called us to we cannot just do it partially, we have to do it all the way.
So, where in the Ten Commandments does it say you cannot have sex before marriage? And why do we believe this anyways? The answer hit me on the forehead at mass tonight. It may not have been one of the official Ten Commandments, but it is the new commandment that Christ gives to us, "Love thy neighbor as I have loved you."
See, for me the whole thing is not about what we cannot do or what God is stopping us from doing. It is not even a "no, no, no". Saving ourselves for our spouse, is all about what we can do. It's about how God is showing us to love. It is, for our human hearts, the most complete form of loving the way Christ loved us.
Jesus lived His entire life to sacrifice Himself completely for us. Saving our bodies is the most amazing way we can make a sacrifice for love and for a spouse that we will fall in love with in the future. I think we have a misconception that love should be about what we get in return. What did Jesus get in return for loving us? You cannot hedge your bets on what a friend or a man or a woman or a person will do for you in response to your love. That's a future that's unknown to you. But you can hope in this, God calls us to love as He loves us. And sometimes that means sacrificing and waiting and giving completely of yourself, even if there is nothing certain in return except for the love of God.
My answer to you may be incomplete. But, God loves you and lives in you and His plans for your life are nothing less than amazing. His call for each of us is to love; freely, faithfully, fruitfully, and fully. This is the way He loves us. Having sex just for the sake of having sex or causally hooking up because it feels good, that is not love. And it is not how God calls us to live.
Sex is the ultimate way we have to express love and if you're not having it in response to a love that is complete, and fruitful, and faithful, and free well than, you're not loving the way God commands you to. You are simply using sex for your own selfish desires and quite frankly you are not even allowing yourself the love you deserve. Sure, in the short term it might be fun, but it leaves you broken.
God has given us the commandments for a reason. When we follow them, our lives become what He intended them to be. He wants more for you. He wants an over the moon, reach for the stars, crazy kind of love and He wants you to be able to give someone that kind of love completely through the Sacrament of Marriage.
So my prayer for you is that in your life, you settle for nothing less than to love and to search for love that is a beautiful reflection of the Lord's love for you. The fact that you even asked the question or pushed me for a deeper answer is the perfect evidence that the love of God has already captured your hearts and that He will be able to radiate His glory through you.
Thank you for pushing me towards Heaven and calling me to truly be bold in my faith. I know God has amazing things to share with the world through each of you. All we have to do is try our absolute best to love each other the way God loves us!
Love and prayers always,
Danielle
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