The three things

Today's Gospel (John 17:11b-19) and second reading (1 John 4:11-16) tell us wonderful things for our Christian lives, most especially as our Lord prays over his followers:

Consecrate them in the truth.
Your word is truth.

As you sent me into the world,
so I sent them into the world.

And I consecrate myself for them,
so that they also may be consecrated in truth.

St. John speaks more of what this means in the second reading:

Whoever acknowledges
that Jesus is the Son of God,
God remains in him
and he in God.

We have come to know
and to believe
in the love God has for us.

God is love,
and whoever remains in love
remains in God
and God in him.

There are three things for us to remember especially from these readings about our lives as Christians, about living in God while still in this world:

• Consecration: living as people set apart and dedicated to God, whatever our walk of life.
• Love: living as much as we can the same self-sacrificial love God has shown us in Christ.
• Truth: living explicitly as Christians, living the commandments and standing up for the truth about Christ.

These are truly good things to keep firmly in our minds as we go through all of the events and challenges of our life this week, guidelines for every moment of our lives:

Consecration

Love

Truth