A Love That Gives

“Just so, the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.” // Matthew 20:28

As a mother, I can relate to the mother of James and John. It’s not hard to find myself trying to shove my kids to the front of the line, so to speak—to defend them when they are slighted, to want them to be well-liked or have approval from others, to want them to have the best piece of the pie. I could imagine if Our Lord were standing before me, I might ask the same thing as this mother of two Apostles . . . and earnestly! The heart of a mother is fierce and protective, and wants the good for her children.

In this regard, none of these things are objectively bad. It is good to want the good, and we should. But we should want a greater good even more. For Our Lord came to serve and to give Himself as a ransom for many. 

Sister, just like Saints James and John, we are called to live in the footsteps of this same Lord—to love as He loved, to share this love with the ones we love most, and in sharing it, help them to love in the same way. In this spirit we can see so clearly that this type of love is a love of self-giving, self-denial, and even suffering. And if we love with our lives, then we choose to live with self-giving, self-denial, and even suffering.

It’s hard to sort out how to get there when our natural fallen human state is so readily focused on self. But, with the help of grace, we can always just start, and in the simplest ways. If I can make a small sacrifice for another, then I will be more apt to make a slightly bigger one, and when a bigger one follows, I will be ready for that, and on and on all the way to the Cross.

Jesus, help me to start small, knowing that nothing is small for You.