The Domino Effect
"We love him, because he first loved us." (1 John 4: 19). His love for us fills our hearts with love and is the solution that solves a multitude of other problems in its wake.
The Seed of Love
Jesus planted the seed of love in the soil of our hearts. He watches in wonder as it germinates, blossoms and beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty (Matthew 13).
The Bucket Brigade
Love is passed in buckets from Jesus to us and from us onto the fire.
LOVE BEGETS LOVE
The catalyst that drives the process of our metamorphosis from sinners into saints is love. Love begets love. Therefore, discovering that our God is head over heals in love with us transforms us. God's love for us is the match that ignites the fire of love in our hearts. "I have come to set the earth on fire, and how I wish it were already blazing!" (Luke 12:49). Love is communicable. It is contagious. "We love him, because he first loved us." (1 John 4: 19) (Jeremiah 23:29). God's love for us is the yeast of divinity (Matthew 13:33). The God who fashioned us out of the dust (Genesis 2:7) with his hands put himself into the hands of the dust to leaven the dust with the yeast of divinity (Matthew 13:33). To transform sinners into saints, there is no shortcut - there is no easy way - there is no substitute for us falling in love with God. Filling our heads with a stultifying codex of byzantine rules, regulations, red tape and rigmaorle does not transform sinners into saints. It transforms human beings into robots with CPUs filled with programming. God does not want robots whose heads are filled with programming. God wants human beings whose hearts are filled with love. We cannot be commanded to fall in love with God. Falling in love with God only happens as we get to know him - when we spend time with him at the holy places that define the escape route of the new Exodus (Luke 9:31) through the Valley of Tears, across the Red Sea of Death and into the Kingdom of God. Filling our hearts with love is the true catalyst of conversion. "By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another" (John 13:35) (Matthew 22:36-40) [Greatest Commandment].WHEN WE FALL IN LOVE WITH GOD, WE CHANGE OUR BEHAVIOR TO PLEASE OUR LOVER. SAINTS ARE CHILDREN OF ADAM AND EVE WHO HAVE FALLEN IN LOVE WITH GOD. THE HARDER THE FALL, THE GREATER THE SAINT.
The Catalyst of Conversion
Falling in love with God is the catalyst of conversion. Filling our heads with a stultifying codex of byzantine rules, regulations, red tape and rigmarole is not the catalyst of conversion. Filling our hearts with love is the catalyst of conversion. To fill our hearts with love, we must come to know that God loves us. Love begets love.
Love Begets Love
His power built paradise for us. His love for us, however, is the ingredient that makes paradise sweet. Power begets respect. But love begets love. Love inflates a deflated heart with love. The most Sacred Heart of Jesus overflows with love. His cup runneth over like the dewfall (Luke 22:20) (Psalm 23:5). From his heart our hearts receive a transfusion of love. The transfusion of love is invigorating. It vivifies us. It brings the dead to life. "We love him, because he first loved us." (1 John 4: 19). HIS LOVE FOR US IS THE HONEY THAT DRAWS THE BEES BACK HOME TO THE HIVE. Rational creatures seek the sweetness of paradise (and flee the sourness of godlessness) (Carrot and stick). It is contrary to our self-interest to do otherwise. It is crazy to do otherwise.
The Music of Christianity
Do you hear the gurgling sound of hearts filling up with love? It is the music of Christianity. Listen to the music of Christianity. Sing in its chorus! Sing a new song unto the Lord (Psalm 96:1).
Our Capacity to Love
We are made in the image and likeness of God (Genesis 1:26). He endowed us with the capacity to love. The greater the love that we hold in our hearts, the greater is our resemblance to God. A saint is a child of Adam and Eve who bears an uncanny resemblance to God. "By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another" (John 13:35) (1 John 4: 7-12). When we fill our hearts to the brim with love, we perfect our resemblance to God.