Day 44: Love

Thank you, God, for the capacity to love.

It’s Maundy Thursday. Sometimes we get distracted—by the heaviness of Good Friday ahead or the joy of Easter coming. But today is about something deeply important. Maundy comes from the Latin mandatum, meaning mandate or command. So, what command does Jesus give on Maundy Thursday?

Jesus washes his disciples’ feet—an act of deep humility and service—and tells them to do likewise. Not quite a direct command, but close. He shares a meal with them, what we now call the Last Supper, and tells them to remember him whenever they eat and drink. Again, not quite a command, but it matters deeply.

But in John 13:34–35, Jesus makes it plain:

“I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

Today, I thank you, God, for the ability to love and to be loved. I’m not perfect at it—not even close—but I try. Sometimes we confuse love with other things. One that sticks out is “tough love.” I’ve often said that tough love isn’t really a thing—it can be more of an excuse than a truth. If we haven’t learned how to love well in its simplest, most patient, and generous forms, how can we claim to offer any other kind?

But I don’t want to overcomplicate what is a beautifully simple, though difficult, gratitude entry. I just want to say:

Thank you, God, for loving me.

Thank you for loving me even when I mess up—especially when I mess up.

Thank you for friends and family who love me in spite of myself.

Thank you for teachers, mentors, and even strangers who have extended love when I probably didn’t deserve it.

Thank you for those who taught me how to love.

Help me reflect the love you and others have poured into me so that someone else might come to understand how wide and deep our capacity for love really is.

And thank you for making love not just a suggestion, not just an example, but a commandment.

Help me live into it—with service, with humility, and with open hands at the table.