The above acts of love might sound like a lot, like it is more than we can do, but this is actually the faith Jesus has professed for us to live by. Our Lord, who was perfectly selfless and did EVERYTHING for the love of the Father through loving us, has clearly shown us that we should not live to love ourselves, but rather, to love Him/the Father through loving those in need, fulfilling their physical and most importantly their spiritual needs, for without the poor obtaining salvation all our other good works will be in vain. This is why we seek everyone’s salvation through our works, just like Jesus.

“Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Spirit [so my saving grace my be given to them], teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you [to keep that grace and regain that grace (if lost) for the salvation of their souls]” (Matthew 28:19-20).

Believing in Jesus means believing in His Words and example as The Way to Earthly and Eternal Happiness… what we should be living by. Imagine living and working to love God, instead of living and working to love ourselves with the billion pleasures of this world (our idols). What good God could do! Yes, if we just lived the faith we profess, such a horror of extreme poverty would no longer exist. We would be working and sacrificing for the poor. “By working hard… you must help the weak” (Acts 20:35).

Unfortunately, many people have been misled into believing that it is acceptable to live beyond our means, while others are living in extreme poverty. Our hard work is so we can have a better and better life for ourselves, not so we can help the poor. Yet, Jesus has warned us against this saying, “take care to be on your guard against all kinds of greed. Life does not depend upon an abundance of one’s possessions [but on what we do with what we have]” (Luke 12:15).

Often, we focus on the surplus we see others have and think that they should be the ones making the sacrifice. But in fact, “we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ [not just the rich], so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done [or not done with what he had]” (2 Corinthians 5:10).

Or we think we need to help ourselves before we can help others. While it is true that we can’t guide someone spiritually if we are blind and don’t know The Way, we certainly can help others with their physical needs, offering up our sacrifice for their spiritual growth.

“Give [love], and it will be given to you [from God, that is, His grace and help, which is far more perfect and beneficial than any love we can give]” (Luke 6:38). 

Sometimes, we deceive ourselves into thinking that we’ve done enough through the charity we do partake in when we still live well above our means and use much of our time to love ourselves and not to love God, even with immoral and sinful things. Yet, Jesus did not give us the example of giving any moment to selfishness or any sin. Even His rest was only as needed to be strengthened to go and help save our souls (love us). His work was for us. His rest was for us. All was for us… for our salvation. Therefore, we have never done enough. Our entire life should be one of charity. “As I have loved you, so you must love one another” (John 13:34).

All of us are called to follow Jesus and live to love God through loving others, not ourselves. “Love the Lord your God with all your heart” (Deuteronomy 6:5). Since God does not need our love or anything from us, all the love that we show to God is done by loving our neighbor, who needs much help, whom God wants in Heaven.

“Let no one seek his own good, but the good of his neighbor [this is love] (1 Corinthians 10:24).

But obtaining a heart like Jesus, with grace fully moving every thought, word, and action we have, making it love of God through the love of others, (doing this correctly), does not happen overnight. Even St. Paul had to work to let go of sin/selfishness to embrace grace, and then it was “no longer I [my self-love] who live, but Christ [His grace] who lives in me” (Galatians 2:20). The Saint Francis Project can help you take the steps needed, one self-less act of love at a time, to grow through God’s grace and obtain such a heart of love too. Learn More

Regardless of how much we can love God through loving others (how strong in our faith we are or how many resources we have), whether it is with $5 or $5 million dollars, or with 1 minute or all our minutes, providing the basic necessities of life that all people are entitled to have, with food, medicine, housing, education, sanitation, and spiritual support to those living in extreme poverty, requires the selfless giving from others. This is the faith… the way of the cross. “Present your bodies as a living sacrifice” (Romans 12:1).

Making selfless sacrifices won’t leave us without happiness, even if endless things in this world are our source of happiness (we have many idols), because the more we leave them to love God, the greater our happiness will become (unless, of course, we reject the grace of God). This is because happiness is not found in living for ourselves with the world’s pleasures, but it is found in living to love God, who dwells in others. Therefore, giving to others not only benefits them but also us. “Happy are the people whose God is the Lord [not the pleasures of the world] (Psalm 144:15).

Without people willing to deny themselves of their time and money–to love God through loving His children–it would be impossible to provide the basic human care that so many people require, which is why extreme poverty still exists. But we can change all that with one act of love at a time, growing and growing within you and then within others until God’s love has removed all selfishness and all His people are receiving the basic care all human beings deserve. “May the Lord cause you to increase and overflow in love for one another” (1 Thessalonians 3:12).

The more people correctly follow Jesus, by abandoning their self-loving will through giving wholeheartedly of their time and resources to love Jesus, who lives in His children (Matthew 25:40), through loving His children (seeking their earthly and eternal happiness), by doing His will, the more He can work through us to relieve the physical and spiritual suffering of so many people. “Let’s cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God” (2 Corinthians 7:1), striving to correctly follow Jesus, so this blessing can happen.

If you want help growing into the image of Jesus, click here.