In Genesis Chapter 22 of the Old Testament, God put Abraham to test
by asking Abraham to offer his son Isaac as a human sacrifice only to be held
on when Abraham was about to kill Isaac. Many atheists would point out to this
Scripture story as another proof of the absurdity of a God who asked a father
to kill his son but stops him when His creature was almost done obeying Him. Atheists
would claim that this Christian God is playing games with His creatures. Therefore,
according to them, it’s another proof that He does not really exist.
What the atheists don’t understand was the purpose of the test. It
was all about fulfilling the virtue of Charity. God wanted to see if Abraham
loves God above all, even more than his son. The Catechism of the Catholic
Church defines the Theological Virtue of Charity as the virtue by which “We
love God above all things for his own sake, and our neighbor as ourselves for
the love of God.” (CCC 1822) Theologians
would say that it was also a test on the faith of Abraham, that’s why after
passing the test, Abraham was given the title the Father of Faith.
The definition of love or charity is to will the good of the other
for the other’s sake. Love means we want what is good for another being whether
that being is God or our neighbor for their own sake without expecting anything
in return or regardless of their behavior. That’s what true love means. When a
parent truly loves a child, that parent wants what is only good for that child
even if that child misbehaves and displeases often the parent. That’s how God
loves us. A parent who disciplines a child for playing with fire for example,
truly loves a child because the parent seeks the greater good of that child
over the temporary joy of the child enjoying his play, because it could
eventually harm him. Love sacrifices things for the greater good of the
beloved.
In principle, only God can truly love because God is absolute and
perfect, and He does not need anything or anyone to make Himself happier or to
make Himself more perfect. We humans when we love, somehow, we expect to be
loved in return because that’s what makes us happy. In fact, when a human being
practices true love or unconditional love by willing the good of another person
without expecting anything in return, it is because of God’s grace. Without
God’s help it’s hard to practice unconditional love. Perhaps, you can practice
loving others for their own sake for some time but without God’s grace it would
not last.
The concept of love cannot be arrived at by our intelligence or
reason alone, God had to reveal it to us through the Holy Bible. Philosophers
like Aristotle who lived before Christ never came up with the idea of love. The
same with Plato, Aristotle’s teacher, who authored the cardinal virtues of
courage, justice, prudence and temperance but never came up with the virtue of
love. It was Christ who introduced us to this highest virtue of Charity by
giving us the summary of the Ten Commandments, “Love the Lord your God with all
your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and
greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as
yourself.” (Matthew 22:37-39)
When we love God above all things, our life is put into order. When
we love something else or someone else above God, our life disintegrates. And
life falls apart to the degree of how far we have separated ourselves from the
love of God.
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