Page 165 - Built For God Handbook (Annotated and Explained Edition) - The Christian Edition of the Tao Te Ching - The New Evangelization - Pope John Paul II

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While this chapter is about the Son of God, the title calling Jesus the Good
Shepherd draws our attention to the compassionate, caring, and tender
nature of his love for all peoples as Son of God. That love for us is grounded
in his love for the Father, manifested first of all by his complete and total
dedication to doing only the Father’s will, to the point of complete oneness
with the Father.

Our attention is then directed to the all-inclusive love of Jesus, as Son of
God, poured out on all people, good and bad, righteous and unrighteous
alike. It is easy to love those who love us, but out of his boundless love,
Jesus challenges us to love our enemies, to do good to those who do not
like us, who may even hate us and hurt us. Jesus can freely ask this of us
because he first modeled that agape love for us himself throughout his life
among us here on earth, and especially by the way he died on the cross. By
his resurrection and the event of Pentecost, he also gives us the power of
the Holy Spirit to “love others as he has loved us.”

He who is the ultimate source of peace and serenity, forgiveness and
healing, invites us to go one step further - not just to imitate him in loving,
but to also become like him in every aspect of our being - to even “put on
the mind of Christ.” We are called to be his disciples, or mathetes, which
means to be a life-long learner and a carbon-copy of him as our master. In
that way, we become beloved sons and daughters of God, brothers, and
sisters of Jesus, in the deepest way possible.

b
c
a Romans 15:1-5; Philippians 2:1-8; Matthew 5:43-48; 2 Timothy 2:13;
f
d Acts 10:36; Romans 5:1; John 10:14-18; 1 John 5:1-2; 1 Peter 3:18.
e