I made known to them your name…that the love with which you loved me may be in them and I in them. John 17:26
To live each day anchored in the knowledge of God’s love for me is a priceless gift of my Christian faith. This knowledge is no less than heaven on earth, however faint, because the very definition of heaven is the beatific vision, the intimate, face-to-face knowing of God as Goodness, Beauty, Truth, Light, Peace, Joy, and every good my soul desires or could imagine.
Instead of basking in that knowledge, I find that in the daily grind I often unconsciously start to bargain with God, as if I could favorably influence God in exchange for an extra measure of devotion, prayer or small personal sacrifice. What am I trying to do? Convince God that I love him? Perhaps.
My pastor noted recently in a homily that he was continually surprised by how many Catholics act as if their religion is all about convincing God that they love him when, in truth, practicing our religion and carrying out our religious duties is rather to enhance our knowledge of God’s love for us, to convince ourselves that God loves us.
James E. Adams
Originally published May 20, 2007
