Invitation to Love

Last week I was contemplating a quote by Henri Nouwen:


“Look at Jesus. The world did not pay any attention to Him. He was crucified and put away. His message of love was rejected by a world in search of power, efficiency, and control. But there He was, appearing with wounds in His glorified body to a few friends who had eyes to see, ears to hear, and hearts to understand. This rejected, unknown, wounded Jesus simply asked, ‘Do you love me, do you really love me?’ He whose only concern had been to announce the unconditional love of God had only one question to ask, ‘Do you love Me?’ The question is not: how much are you going to accomplish, can you show some results? But: are you in love with Jesus?” From In the Name of Jesus


Here are my reflections and prayers from this time of contemplation:


“Do you love me, do you really love? Do you love me more than these?” As I have contemplated these words of Jesus, I have decided these must be the most plaintive words ever spoken. The God Who is Love, asking if His followers love Him!? He is The God Who Wants us to Love Him and to love Him first. How often have I read these words, and how often have I read them selfishly – thinking only of my guilt of not loving Him enough? But, no. These words, this question, is not about our hearts, meant to convict – no, it is about His heart, meant to show us Who He Is. He is the God Who Desires Our Love. He wants us to love Him first, just as He first loved us with that “first love.” He is the first to see us, to know us, to love us – as mere one-celled embryos He loved us and valued us before we could do anything, before anyone else even knew we existed - and He wants us to see Him as “our first love” as well.


How beautiful You are O God! How beautiful that you would desire me, a broken, rebellious, deceitful sinner to love You! How awesome You are! I am so unworthy to love You, and so weak. But Lord, what little of my Self I have and know, what weakness of love I possess, I give to Thee, for You are All.


What grace have I? That You, the Most High God, the Glorious and Exalted One, the One who died for the world, for me, would stoop down so low and ask me to love you? What grace? What goodness? You are My Love, My First Love, My Beautiful Savior, The Wounded One Who Gives Me Life. What grace have I? That You should come to me? How unworthy I am to receive You, to know You, to be invited to love You. I love you, my Lord Jesus, for you are good and worthy of all love, all devotion, all desire.


Lord God, I am amazed by your wounds – your head, your hands, your side, your feet. You stand before us with arms outstretched and Your wounds declare:“This is how much I LOVE YOU. This is how much I desire your love.” This. Your wounds. How beautiful they are to me. You are the Wounded-One-Who-Asks-for-My-Love. O God, may my love, meager and poor as it is, may my love be enough to satisfy Your heart. I offer all of me to You.