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August 26, 2003
God is love
"Whoever is without love does not know God, for God is love." [1 John 4:8 ]
"... God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. " [1 John 4:16]
Some talk about God being the source of all love. Some talk about God’s love for us, God's servants, God's creation. Others talk about God’s love being a perfect unconditional love that is distinct from the petty earthly love we express between each other. But there's another interpretation: take the statement at face value. You know love? Well, guess what, that’s God. It’s not something God does; it’s not separate from God; it is God. God is love. It's the other descriptions of God that are the metaphors, metaphors for the life force that strives for connection with others, that recognizes the primal reality of that connection, the life force that so often defies scientific understanding, the force that makes the whole greater than the sum of its parts, the collective unconscious. God is that which connects us to each other, and love is the expression of that connection. So: love is that of God in each of us. Love is the act of making contact with the interconnectedness of all beings.
"Whoever is without love does not know God, for God is love." Why is this concept so hard to understand? Well, certainly for modern people, raised in a mystery-free zone, taught to believe only what is physical and tangible and measurable, metaphysical concepts are always a little tough. But this also challenges us to rethink entirely what it means to be religious, to be spiritual. We look at those who live in love as special beings who have some rare talent that makes them able to live a life so different from the modern world. People go to a church or synagogue or mosque or temple or zendo or sitting group and think they have an understanding of God. But if God is love, and love is all there is, then it kind of throws all the thinking and philosophizing and moralizing into question.
Preaching hate is right out the door -- that’s easy. But it’s much more of a challenge than that. If God is love and that love is in us, then to find God is to find that love in us, to tap it and let it flow. If that’s true, then it’s a challenge to all of us to express love in our daily lives, love in the broadest sense -- empathy, compassion, caring, honesty, friendliness, forgiveness: all the things that come from seeing the other person with love, of seeing ourselves in them. It’s not the unique province of a chosen saintly few. It’s our duty and our salvation. Sermons and meditation and rituals aren’t bad, but they’re secondary. And if they distract us from love, or if they lead us to believe that some cause or dogma is the point instead of love, then they do harm.
This simple message is a profoundly radical one. God is love. Since we all have the capacity to love, then God is within each of us. If you act out of love, you tap into the limitless wellspring of divine energy.
© 2004 Philip F. Rose
Posted by experiential at August 26, 2003 12:00 AM