love and be yourself

Let love for you always be with me,

and the care of me be always with you.

Just love God. You do not need to add to the list of what you must do in this life. Love covers it all. If you fail unwittingly (you are only human), his care will be with you. He cares for those who are mistaken. We are all mistaken and he has yet to become apathetic to our need. Do not think that God’s care fails if you stumble.

Even when we are guilty of outright rebellion, his care still attends us. He cannot be anything other than caring. He is your Father. Succeed, fail or rebel, he cares. You are the apple of his eye.

It is our love that varies, never his care. So, practice loving God always.

God blesses us all with special abilities: do not become distracted by outcomes. Just do the best you can with your gift, out of simple love for him. Do not become troubled if another with a similar ability receives more reward for the same amount of labor you exert. God’s care still attends you and you can simply love him though your reward seems smaller in the world’s eyes.

In fact, simple love is its own reward. It sets one free from attachments that can only disappoint.

Do not worry about loving God the way someone else loves God. God’s care for you is to have you love him as he made you, not as he made another. Love God in your way, and give your neighbor leave to love God in their way. Don’t compare yourself to another; just love God as best you can.

We know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love.

Anyone who lives in love lives in God, and God in them.

1 John 4:16