The love of God

God does not love us because we are good;

God's love makes us good.

We do not love others because they are perfect; we love them because they are "ours"  -- or because we share some history with them.  Sometimes our lack of perfection can get in the way of our love; that's one reason we teach our children good manners.  We don't want to run people off by our gross behavior.  But for the most part, we love others despite their failings, just as they love us despite our own.  And always, genuine love makes us want to overcome the worst of our faults so as not to put up difficulties for those who love us.

God's love is the same; He knows us better than anyone else.  He knows why we behave the way we do.  He is not "put off" by our bad behavior, but because He loves us as a parent, He does not want us to isolate ourselves in our own meanness and pettiness.  His love is full of "second, third, and fourth" chances to get it right.  He wants us to revel in life in all of its greatness---in nature, in relationships, in sharing of gifts, in joy.  When we cannot do so, He is waiting to be of assistance:  I'll never leave you or abandon you.

He loves us because we are His, because we share with Him some kind of history, even if that "history" was only a fleeting thought or prayer.  If we belong to Him, He will not turn us away because of our behavior, but His love will draw us away from the destruction we are building for ourselves.   We often do not feel worthy to speak to God because of our sins---but that is the very time we most need to speak to Him. 

The Hebrew word for "mercy" is related to the word for "womb."  In His Divine Mercy, God is most drawn to the worst sinner, the one most in need of His nurturing care.  A mother or father grieves over the child who goes astray, because he/she knows what kind of misery will follow.  All it takes is for the child to say, "I'm coming home," and the parents rejoice, forgetting everything that has gone before.  And Jesus said that He would leave the 99 and go after the 1 who was lost.  What other God in the history of the world has put on His sandals to pursue the sinner?