Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good. Rom 12: 9
Genuine love is a love that transforms oneself and others. Such an emotion is not motivated by selfish interest. It is motivated by what is best within us towards the best in the other. Genuine love does not have terms and conditions. Anyone who is capable of loving other this way is loving oneself the way God created him or her to be. Therefore such moment of genuine love is also a moment of spiritual enlightenment and transformation.
A person who loves oneself as God created him or her, will soon recognize that sometimes in his or her life there are things he or she does that are bad, sad, painful and shameful. This is what I call the moment of “Paul-ization” meaning, this is a moment of recognition human sinfulness and divine forgiveness. Instead of falling into depressing guilt they learn quickly that without holding on to what is true and eternal, good and genuine in others, they won’t be holding on to God in this world. Life is not any more focused on bad, sad, painful and shameful things and acts, but truth, goodness, beauty that are real here and now.
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© 2007: Rev. Jos Tharakan. Requires permission to reproduce. Email: fathersjos at gmail.com