God is love, really...

For me and many of my generation, the practice of religion was something that was passed along to us by parents who mostly left it up to our parochial schools to apply meaning and explanation to our “faith.” Church on Sunday was an obligation, like cleaning your bedroom or visiting relatives; there wasn’t much joy to be found in any of these. Furthermore, the word “God” was typically associated with verbs like “punish” and “fear.” When you are told (over and over) to obey someone lest you be punished, or that your actions should be driven by fear of retribution, this “God” fellow hardly seemed like someone you’d want to spend much time with, let alone get to know.

The concept of “God” equaling “love,” never made it to my doorstep (maybe it hadn’t yet come into fashion) and until I spent some time with this radical idea, I was never able to develop a relationship with God that was spiritually significant. Ironically, the first time “God is Love” entered my consciousness was when I saw the phrase sprayed on the underside of a pedestrian bridge outside of Lake Placid, New York. How sad that twelve years of Catholic schooling couldn’t deliver this life-altering message as effectively as one daring graffiti artist.

In the Maronite Tradition, God’s name is invoked in this way: Oh, Lover of all….
The late Jesuit Fr. Pedro Arrupe wrote: “Nothing is more practical than finding God, that is, than falling in love in a quite absolute final way. What you are in love with, what seizes your imagination, will affect everything. It will decide what will get you out of bed in the morning, what you do with your evenings, how you spend your weekends, what you read, who you know, what breaks your heart, and what amazes you with joy and gratitude. Fall in love, stay in love, and it will decide everything.”

When you are in love with a person, you want to spend as much time as possible with that person; you want to share in every aspect of their life; you want to wrap yourself up in that person; you willingly share every part of your being with them (including your hopes, dreams and fears); and, in intimacy, you submit to them and their desires with the hope of furthering your relationship. Imagine the perfect lover — giving, caring, compassionate, patient, someone who tells you look great even though you’re 20 years older and 20 pounds heavier than when you first met — and you’ve found God.

For me, thinking about God as a lover, my lover, opens up a whole new understanding about what God gives me – every day – and what he asks from me in return. Ironically, thoughts of punishment and fear are never part of the conversation.