Jesus' Love is Pure and True

As I reflected yesterday on the scripture readings in the Gospel, Matthew 5:43-48 my first response is one of great sorrow and pain, because I am reminded of how unloving I am now and have been towards some of my family.  The word gently reveals God to me and who He is calling me to be, perfect as He is perfect.  I say with my lips and although I feel in my heart I forgive those who in my family have hurt me or by my perception of how we must live our lives I  love them, but, do I.  Jesus loves me purely, never for his sake; but, for my own sake.  He pursues me in my weakness in order to reveal my good.  He knows me better than I know myself.  He knows that all I want is to love and be loved; yet, he recognizes in me the cause for my weaknesses.  The reason we sometimes are unable to love, forgive or see the goodness in our neighbors is because we only look or see what is visible to us.  Many times I am dismayed at why we love those who love us and are cold, distant and indifferent towards those who we consider against us, our enemies.  For if you are not for me, you must be against me, isn't that usually our thinking; yet, even when we are away from God, even when we hurt him, even when we disappoint Him, He loves us, each of us, good or bad; as well as the just or unjust things we do.  So, if we in our weakness are loved in this way, we too are called to love, forgive and pray for our enemies.  The Lord seeks us, calls us each by name to remind us of His love for us.  Jesus takes up our defense, gives us His heart, His time and His trust.  He seeks to arouse our hearts to recognize the good in us and others.  Jesus does this in order to renew our spirits so that we will emulate the love He has for us and in us in order that we will share His love with our neighbors; but, more significantly our family.  So, I challenge myself and each of you this lent to pray and reflect on how we love.  Do we love our enemies enough that we seek to understand in them what is hidden?  Do we understand what pain they must be going through now or have suffered in the past so that we may understand?  Jesus made himself smaller in order to make us better.  Can we too make ourselves smaller to serve the needs of others?  Can we pray for and love others so they recognize Christ' love in us?  Let's not judge the vices of our Brothers and Sisters; but, seek in them what remains pure by doing what Jesus would do, seek and love them without motive, pure and true.