Love is Like a River

A Personal Encounter with God in Scripture

Love is Like a River

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Jesus said to him, "One who has bathed does not need to wash, except for the feet, but is entirely clean. And you are clean, though not all of you." (John 13:10)

On New Year’s Day about ten years ago, I set myself a personal goal: to know deeper intimacy with Jesus during the coming year. More than ever in my life—and probably especially because I was in pain from the collapse of some close relationships—I thirsted to know his love. “Why did things fall apart the way they did?” I would ask myself. “What did I do wrong?”

I tried to sort through the pain of these broken relationships as I had always worked through difficulties: by pushing myself to get closer to the Lord in the hopes that he would heal me. I frequented the sacraments. I prayed every day. I read Scripture. Still, I wasn’t experiencing the love of the Lord in the intimate, personal way that I so wanted. My knowledge seemed indirect—“mediated” through the words or witnesses…

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