The point of God’s love is to remake us in his image of love. The point of the spiritual journey is not simply to be received back into the welcoming arms of love of the Father but to become like the Father. Jesus reminds us of this when he tells his followers to “be compassionate as your Father is compassionate” (Luke 6:36). God wants us to make his life ours, his heart ours, his love ours. He wants us to be—like him—characterized by love.
