“Those who keep his commandments remain in him, and he in them.”
(1 Jn 3:24)

 When you love someone, you want to stay with them always. This is also God's desire, God who is Love. He created us so that we would be able to meet him, and we will only have the fullness of joy when we reach intimate union with him, for he is the only one who can satisfy our hearts. He came down from heaven to be with us and lead us into communion with him.

John does not hesitate: we just have to observe his commandments:

"Those who keep his commandments remain in him, and he in them."

Are there many commandments that must be followed in order to reach this unity?

No, because Jesus condensed them all into one. Just before stating the Word of Life that has been chosen for this month, John reminds us, "And his commandment is this: we should believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another just as he commanded us" (1 Jn 3:23).

That's how it is with every Word of Life: without fail they all lead us to love. It can't be otherwise because God is Love, and each of his words contains love, expresses love and, if put into practice, transforms us into love.

"Those who keep his commandments remain in him, and he in them."

This month's Word of Life invites us to believe in Jesus and adhere with all our being to his person and teachings. It invites us to believe that he is the love of God—as John teaches us again in this letter—and that for love he gave his life for us (1 Jn 3:16). It invites us to believe even when he seems far away, when we don't feel his presence, when difficulties arise or suffering comes.

"Those who keep his commandments remain in him, and he in them."

Here's one couple's experience: "My husband and I were really in love. Everything was fine during the first years of our marriage. Lately, however, he has been very tired and stressed out. Here in Japan, the responsibility to work weighs down on a man’s shoulders like a ton of bricks.

"After coming home from work one evening, he sat down at the table for supper. I was about to sit down next to him when he shouted at me to go away, 'You don’t have the right to eat because you don’t work!'"

"That whole night I cried and thought about leaving and splitting up. The next day thousands of thoughts continued to nag at me: 'I made a mistake in marrying him. I can't live with him anymore."

"In the afternoon I spoke with my friends, those with whom I share the desire to live an authentic Christian life. They listened with much love. From this communion with them I found the strength and courage I needed to start over."

"I went home to prepare once again my husband's supper. As the hour of his return from work drew closer, however, my fear returned and grew stronger. 'How was he going to react tonight?' But a voice inside of me was saying, 'Don't give up. Welcome this suffering. Continue to love."

"Just then he appeared at the door with a cake he had bought for me. 'I'm sorry for what happened yesterday,' he said."