In the book of Deuteronomy we hear the great commandment "you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might" (Deut 6:4-7), and this is a commandment that Jesus himself repeats in all three Synoptic Gospels. Love is central to the Christian life, and St Paul is keen to emphasise this: "if I am without love, I am nothing. Though I should give away to the poor all that I possess, and even give up my body to be burned - if I am without love, it will do me no good whatever" (1 Cor 13:2).This could be a source of worry for some of us - are we supposed to always act with a strong sense of affection and oneness with God. No doubt there are some Christians who do have these feelings, and it is surely a good thing if people have the sorts of emotions that make them delight in doing good works. But the kind of love St Paul describes sounds more like an attitude or outlook, than an emotion: love is always patient and kind; love is trusting, hopeful and enduring. If we can have a loving attitude like this, then it will provide the firm ground in which other spiritual gifts can take root.
Yet there are attitudes and emotions that prevent us from loving properly - boastfulness, jealousy, conceit, rudeness and delight in wrongdoing, are all incompatible with love. These negative emotions and attitudes need to be done away with, but how do we get rid of them? St Paul says ‘All who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified self with all its passions and desires’ (Gal 5:24). By turning to Christ crucified, we can be freed from all those selfish passions and desires that prevent us from truly loving God.
But true love isn’t just about getting rid of negative passions. St Paul also says love 'finds its joy in the truth' (1 Cor 13:6). Thus true love is located in the highest part of the human soul, the intellect. In our mental appreciation and in our voluntary resolve, God should stand above everything else. From this appreciation and resolve all other love flows. When we love goodness and truth in God then we can love all of His creation through Him.
Yet there are attitudes and emotions that prevent us from loving properly - boastfulness, jealousy, conceit, rudeness and delight in wrongdoing, are all incompatible with love. These negative emotions and attitudes need to be done away with, but how do we get rid of them? St Paul says ‘All who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified self with all its passions and desires’ (Gal 5:24). By turning to Christ crucified, we can be freed from all those selfish passions and desires that prevent us from truly loving God.
But true love isn’t just about getting rid of negative passions. St Paul also says love 'finds its joy in the truth' (1 Cor 13:6). Thus true love is located in the highest part of the human soul, the intellect. In our mental appreciation and in our voluntary resolve, God should stand above everything else. From this appreciation and resolve all other love flows. When we love goodness and truth in God then we can love all of His creation through Him.
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