“There’s something different about you.”

Think about the times in your life when this has been said to you. Maybe it was after someone complimented you on a job well done, and you realized that you were walking through life with a little more confidence. Maybe it was after meeting someone special, as you carried the glow of that relationship wherever you went. Chances are, if someone has noticed something different about you, it’s because, inwardly, you’ve been changed by the loving or respectful actions of another person.

Love, you see, can make us into new creations. From the love of God flows the grace to tackle any challenge, including the biggest challenge of all: loving each other well. Christ knows what a big request this is. He was human, too. He came and lived among us. He knew intimately what it was to love people in the chaos of their own flaws. He knew what he was asking of us when he said, “As I have loved you, so you should also love one another.”

In essence, this is the call to stewardship: loving as Christ loves, amidst the messiness of everyday reality. Loving with accountability, challenging ourselves and our brothers and sisters to be faithful even when it is hard. Loving with an unflinching sense of hospitality that welcomes even those we do not agree with or understand. Loving with gratitude, giving thanks for the great variety of ways that Christ can make himself known to us through others.   

It isn’t easy — we all know that. But if we ask God for the grace to remain steadfast in this greatest commandment, we will be given what we need to live as new creations.