God in Our Sandals

“Love is to put yourself in the place of another, to feel their feelings, walk in their shoes, weep with their tears, rejoice in their joys, take upon yourself their burdens, and give to them your life.”

“Define love,” said the teacher.

“Love is to want the best for another,” I replied.

“Yes,” he said. “And to put it another way, love is to put yourself in the place of another, to feel their feelings, walk in their shoes, weep with their tears, rejoice in their joys, take upon yourself their burdens, and give to them your life.”

“I like that.”

“The Scriptures declare that God is love,” he said. “If God is love, He must be the greatest love, the ultimate love. Do you believe God loves us?”

“I do.”

“Then what must love do?”

“Love must put itself in the place of another.”

“So what would be the greatest possible manifestation of love?”

“That God … would put Himself in the place of another?”

“And how would that actually manifest? What would be the greatest manifestation of love?”

“God would have to put Himself in our place … He would have to walk in our shoes.”

“Yes, and feel our feelings.”

“And cry our tears.”

“And take upon Himself our burdens,” he said, “and our judgment … and our death, to save us, to give us life. He would give His life.”

“Then if God is love,” I said, “that’s what He would do.”

“Then,” said the teacher, “the greatest possible manifestation of love has already manifested … on our planet. God putting Himself in our place. And so there is no greater love you could ever know,” he said. “When you feel it and when you don’t, it doesn’t matter  it doesn’t change anything. Nothing you do can alter this love. No good work can increase it. And no sin can lessen it. When you feel it and when you don’t, it’s there nonetheless. We cannot change it we can only receive it and be changed by it. We can only let it change us. For the greatest possible love has already been manifested. God has come down. It is only for us to receive it and to do likewise, by putting ourselves in the place of another, our feet in their shoes, our heart in their heart.”

“The greatest possible manifestation of love has already manifested … God putting Himself in our place … There is no greater Love you could ever know.”