Like Family

As I was pondering the kind of love which Jesus Christ has for us and which we should have for each other, one of the things I puzzled over was the motivation of His love. If it has so little to do with our actions that no amount of righteousness or wickedness could increase or decrease His love for us, His love must have a different motivation than because we do what He wants us to do.

I also wondered about the intensity and effects of His love. The love of Christ seems to mostly involve feelings of care and concern for us, but not attraction. It's clear that what we're talking about isn't a romantic kind of love, so what kind of love is it? I believe that Jesus Christ's love for us is familial, but in cause and in effect. He loves us as family, and He loves us because we're family. This, I believe, is the kind of love He expects us to have for our fellow man.

In reality, we are all family. We are all sons and daughters of the same Heavenly Father. We are siblings, so we should all love and care for each other as siblings, even if we're not fond of each other as people. Jesus loves us at least partly because He's our Brother. We can love our spirit brothers and sisters in the same way and for the same reason. Our love for each other doesn't have to be perfect or personal. Not yet, anyway. For now, I think the goal is for us to learn to love each other like family.