“And do you know, I came with horror to the conclusion that, if anything could dissipate my love to humanity, it would be ingratitude. In short, I am a hired servant, I expect my payment at once—that is, praise, and the repayment of love with love. Otherwise I am incapable of loving any one.”

Have you ever thought like that? Especially after having performed some great sacrificial activity of some sort, and then no one thanked you for doing it–or even noticed? That is the true test of agape style love: giving and expecting nothing, not even thanks, in return.

What’s the point then of giving of loving?  Well, for one thing, God notices and it reminds him of his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ who gave himself to die in place of all humanity. One of his closest followers betrayed him, another bitterly denied him, the rest coldly abandoned him. Yet, he loved them all to the end.

So why then do we attempt to love others when there is so little if any gratitude in the world?  “In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.” (1 Jn 4:10–11). We love others simply because God first loved us.