This is poignant for me because of late I have been helping someone navigate situations in which they are being very poorly treated by someone they love. There is great relational risk. When things are this hard, it can be more than challenging to respond in Love. It can seem that Loving sacrificially is simply too dangerous. It can seem that if one were to give oneself to another, even one greatly loved, the result might be complete loss of oneself.

We would be remiss if we fail to notice that it specifies that we are to follow God’s example not only as children, but as dear children. We are Loved with a self-sacrificing agape’ Love. We are dear to God. He is the perfect parent and most worthy of our imitation.

From time to time, I like to repeat a statement that I once read or heard— “I don’t know how to act my age. I’ve never been this age before.” It’s humorous because while it is silly, it is also true. It can be easy for us to feel the same way about thinking, talking, and acting like saints. We don’t know how.

Here’s one of the more useful things I’ve learned.