we can love because He first loved us

So my first year of theology school has been very revealing in many ways. It has begun to familiarize me with the structure of the church. It has taught me where that structure comes from, and why it was established. And it has given me the knowledge and the freedom to question and be skeptical of both tradition and the church, as I learn more and more about what Jesus was really talking about—and how that has gotten skewed in the last 2,000 years.

My first year then has been good because it has allowed me to understand what’s really Christian: to first love God, and then love His children and the rest of creation. So, I knew that. I understood it.

But then someone put it in perspective for me. She made me hear it again. Don’t you love how you can hear the same words in a different way when they’re being used as instruction from God? My friend said, “Our ability to love others comes from the fact that God first loved us. We cannot truly love others until we recognize that God loved us to death despite our sins—and seek to understand that love.”

What a smart lady. Aren’t I lucky to know people who speak such wisdom? It’s completely the hand of God.

So I began to see where there is room for improvement for me. Because I have an appreciation for Creation. But I have difficulty, at times, loving Creation. When people use harmful words. When they are unkind, unwelcoming, unforgiving, exclusive. When people cut me off in traffic. And appreciation is vastly different from love.

So I understand that I have a lot of work to do before I am able to see the face of the Beloved in the face of those who seem unlovable. But now that I know what work has to be done, I can get started on it.

Easy, right?