This segment of Saint Paul’s letter today can be a bit discouraging. In this brief paragraph Paul outlines the struggle with temptation to sin. Knowing what is good and right, we often choose evil instead. The whole life of virtue consists of this struggle between knowing good and choosing good. Life of virtue would be very discouraging if it were only about the struggle. Thankfully, it’s not.
Life of virtue is about a relationship with Someone: with God. Turns out, He wants this relationship more than we do. The amazing thing about it is, to have a real relationship, we must freely choose to be in it. God is continually presenting us with the choice: love him and choose good or deny him and choose against this relationship.
In his mercy, God allows us to choose. He wants us fully alive, fully free, fully in love with him. Choosing good becomes a choice of love when we live the life of virtue as a relationship. Being free we are able to choose this relationship at every moment. This is mercy. If at some point we choose against the relationship with God, it is not the end of the relationship. At any moment, we can choose him again. God’s merciful love let us choose his love at every moment.
Growth in Virtue
The great news is that we can grow in our life of virtue. The more times we choose for our relationship with God, the more we are inclined to choose him. This means that we can grow in virtue.
Growth in virtue can be small or big. Many small choices for good lead to the strength to make bigger choices for good. Creating a habit of virtue comes from many small choices made constantly over time. As with any habit, it requires a lot of effort to make the habit, and unfortunately very little effort to break the habit.
That is where mercy comes in. Be merciful with yourself as God is merciful with you. Mercy defeats discouragement. Discouragement tells you that you’re a failure, you will never get up from this fall, because you failed you are no longer lovable, etc. Mercy tells you “get up, try again, I am here for you, I am beside you, I will not leave you alone.”
Hope in God’s Love
The hard to grasp truth that God loves us is a source of continual hope. While other experiences of love can give us insight into God‘s love, all human loves fall short of God‘s love. God‘s love is always greater than we think. Even the most selfless love on a human level holds some type of expectation. God‘s love holds no expectations. He simply loves us.
He loves us as we are. And, He loves us as we grow closer to him. He loves us even when we fail. And, He loves us when we succeed. He loves us when we try again. We may think that his love can increase or decrease like any human love, but that is not true. His love is at its maximum capacity at every moment. He loves us fully at every moment.
