"Man can not live without love." I love Pope John Paul II. In my blog "The Splendor of His Love" I wrote a post based off of what he said to the youth on World Youth Day 2003. But this is just a simple sentence - it seems so straightforward and self-evident. Is it really as obvious as it seems? I don't think it is.
We hear all the time that love is important, but do we grasp the significance of God's Love for us? Think about it. Without His Love, we really wouldn't be able to live. We were dead in sin. Christ came to conquer the twofold death (death of the body and of the soul - consequences of the fall) and give us life again. Without that Love, we would never have the chance to be with God. And life without God is not life. If we do not acknowledge the power and omniscience of our Creator, we are just as dead as if Christ had not conquered the grave.
God's love is most important for our lives, however, human/fraternal love is also extremely valuable. Our world is lacking so much in fraternal love. We are told to love our neighbors, enemies, families, friends, and most importantly, ourselves. If we do not love ourselves, we can not love anyone else. No matter how comfortable people say they are with themselves (body, voice, talents, intelligence, etc.) there is almost always something that they don't like about themselves. I struggle with hating myself a lot. I have to remember to remind myself that I can't say I love any of my friends unless I learn to accept myself for who God created me to be. I'm slowly getting better with it and through that I feel my connection with Him growing stronger. Getting back to the point here, I've heard so many stories of people committing suicide because they felt unloved and worthless. That shows how heartless people in our world can be. It may not always be that, though. It may be as simple as someone jokingly saying "you're so stupid". A lot of the time we don't realize how much impact our words can have on other people and how they feel about themselves. I'm not always the best with that; I'll joke around and make fun of people. I have to remember that what I'm saying could be the deciding factor to a person about whether they live or die. We all have to realize that we can effect someone's life for the worse just as much (if not more) as we effect it for the better.
In short, be kind to one another. Thank God for His gift of Love and of Christ. Man truly can not live without love.
May God bless all of you and keep you happy and healthy!
Blessed John Paul II, pray for us!
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