By the Way: Let love guide our steps forward

By Rev. Kristy Reimers-Loader on January 3, 2026.

Jesus said, “I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another.” Love is such a flexible concept; we use the same word for describing our feelings about our partners, our friends, our pets, and our favourite foods.

We love them all! There are so many forms of love; respect and admiration, loyalty and concern, kindness and affection, not to mention romance and passion.

Whether it’s compassion for suffering that melts our hearts, or witnessing injustice that sets them on fire, defending the vulnerable, the voiceless, and the powerless among us is one of the purest expressions of love, and very much in line with another quote from Jesus:

“No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”

Throughout history, love has shaken the foundations of relationships and love has rebuilt them. Speaking of shake-ups, we’ve seen a few of those lately, haven’t we?

The world, it seems, is going through a period of upheaval and change, shifting the foundations of many of our institutions, traditions, and assumptions about the world.

Innovation and technological advances abound, which one might think would be cause for exhilaration, but honestly, what I’ve seen most often lately is a generalized sense of fatigue and anxiety from folks living in a constantly reactive state.

It may be an odd suggestion, perhaps even counter-intuitive, considering we’ve just had two statutory holidays with time off for many folks, and we’d normally be girding our loins for going back to work right now, but if I may say so, deliberately making space for rest, reflection, and renewal is also a form of love, whether we do it for ourselves or others around us.

So, instead of throwing ourselves headlong into the new year, it might do us good to take a moment and think about all the ways we might let love guide our steps forward; how we might love ourselves and show love for each other in 2026; how we might love the world around us in a way that is healthy and intentional, and which honours our bodies, our minds, and the Spirit of life and light and love within us all.

The foundations may be shaken, but love can rebuild them. Happy New Year, friends, and every blessing go with you, now and always. Amen.

Rev. Kristy Reimers-Loader

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