No Love Without Suffering

Dearest Ones,

There is no love without suffering because love always involves self-sacrifice. We know there are some things worth suffering for: a soldier on the front lines fighting for freedom; a mother in a delivery room giving birth to a baby or a college student studying for an important exam. These are the kinds of suffering that produce great good. 

 "Deny yourself and take up your cross and follow me," Jesus says. God's ways are very different - the opposite of the usual human way. The natural temptation is to put our own needs first. Christ's way is different - He put others first.

How can I put someone first, who has put me down, disrespected me or not accepted me the way I am? I have to remember to accept others the way Jesus accepts me. This is hard because the deepest wounds in life are the wounds of rejection - somebody puts you down and makes you feel like a worm. We've all had it happen to us where someone won't take us seriously and makes us feel worthless.

Followers of Jesus must be the most accepting people in the world. Sometimes, it is good for us to be put down because it helps us to know how it feels. Then, we may not treat others the same way we have been treated because we know how much it hurts. Accepting people is not the same thing as approval of what they have done. We can accept people without approving of what they do. It is a mark of love to accept people just the way they are.

If God asks you to suffer, please try to accept it the way Jesus did. People laughed at him, mocked him and even threw stones at Him, when He was only trying to help them get to heaven. He offered His suffering out of love for them - He wanted to save them. We can help Him save souls, by accepting the suffering that comes in life. Don't waste any of your precious sufferings. What a privilege to share in the sufferings of Christ, as we help to save the world. Could any work be more beautiful? I know this is hard to understand - it is for me, but the example of Jesus is enough for me to believe it!

God does not ask us to rejoice because a loved one has been stricken with cancer, because we have lost our job, or because we have constant pain. But we can rejoice because He has assured us that He is in control of all our circumstances, and we know they will work for our good.

I ask you to think of somebody who really irritates you. Someone who is hard to love. Make a real effort to treat that person with respect and dignity. Listen to their point of view even though you don't agree. One of the ways you can show acceptance is to listen. This can be the highest form of love.

Make an effort to be loving and accepting of those who serve you at a fast food place or a gas station. They may be feeling low about themselves and you treating them with respect may be the means of saving a life. Look people in the eye when thanking them - it makes them feel valued.  

How valuable do you think you are? Let me tell you. First, God created you. Second, Jesus died for you. Third, He put His Spirit within you. Fourth, He wants you to be with Him forever in heaven. But God doesn't just love you that way - He loves everybody else that way, too. Even the people you can't stand. He expects us to love these people the same way He loves them because Christ died for them, too.

But we can't do it alone - don't even try. He gives us His Holy Spirit, who gives us the power to do so. This quote is from the book, He and I, by Gabrielle Bossis, in which Jesus speaks to her, saying: "If I had another way of bringing you closer to Me than suffering, I would have chosen it."

All my love and prayers,
Sister Francelle