Love -and personal relationships


He that loveth not, knoweth not God, for God is love. -The Apostle, John


These words sound so ethereal that most of us cannot connect them with daily life.

What, we ask, do personal relationships have to do with the divine?

I would reply that it is by discovering the unity between ourselves and others- all others - that we find our unity with God.

We don't first get to know God and then, by some miracle of grace, come to love our fellow human beings. Loving others comes first. In this sense, learning to love is practicing religion. Those who can put the welfare of others before their own small personal interests are religious, even if they would deny it. ~ Easwaran


How practical, how simple is this tenet. How is it that we all miss this so consistently? I am pondering in my heart how this affects me. Is it possible for me to change my focus, my perspective on my marriage, my church relationships, friendships outside of church? By simply and only exhibiting this life-quality, I can become like Jesus asked His disciples to be.



"To love God with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all
your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all
burnt offerings and sacrifices."




Jesus clearly stated this. This is reiterated throughout the
epistles and the gospels. So why can't we "just do it"?

What is it about the condition of my heart that resists exhibiting and practicing that love of neighbor as my-self? Do I not love my self enough? Does my self loathing cause me to be inhibited in loving others? Do I doubt God's love for me? Is my capacity for loving others somehow interwoven with my own inner self, the mirror of the heart, which is not reflecting the Light of the Essential with clarity and accuracy?

All these insights are very interesting. May the Spirit intercede and help me to pray as I ought and to love as I ought.

And so may it be for you.

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