A Jesuit Catholic University
in Omaha, Nebraska, since 1878

[285] Acts 14:5-18 Ps 115:1-2, 3-4, 15-16 John 14:21-26

Weekly Guide for Daily Prayer The Daily Reflections

Jesus said to his disciples:
"Whoever has my commandments and observes them
is the one who loves me.
Whoever loves me will be loved by my Father,
and I will love him and reveal myself to him."
                                                -John 14:21

Love is not something that can be done passively. Whether it’s love of a family member, a friend, or even a significant other, love is expressed best not through words, but through our thoughts and actions. If we do not live as though we love, then the difference between loving your closest friend and, say, peanut butter is slight.

Why, then, do we so often think of our love of God in different terms? I know I’m guilty of it – for years, now, I’ve treated God as an understood. I confess openly that I’ve failed to consider God in my words and actions, and that I have lived my life as a Christian in name only.

The true irony comes when you sit to pray and wonder why you feel disconnected, distracted, or lost. Our relationship with God, like any relationship, requires more than just acknowledging it exists. It takes action. It takes diligence. It takes living your day-to-day life with the knowledge that God’s work is present in all that you do.

This is no small task. And, as is often the case in our pursuit of a relationship, living our daily lives with God in mind is much easier said than done. But even acknowledging this difficulty and still working to overcome it is an active affirmation of one’s love for God.

And so I implore each of us to do as Jesus asked – let us not treat our relationship with God as any less than any other, but as what it is: the most fundamental and critical relationship we could ever have, from which all others stem. If we do that, then we can trust God will reciprocate and show himself to us.