CHAPTER 50 About love and the love of Jesus [1] You say, dear friend and brother, you may well be right, and so it is, as you have said. But, behold, it is a hard thing with the sudden awakening of love, which we now and then know from experience. We also have in this respect somewhat of a problem with so-called 'being in love'. If we really consider the matter, one soon learn that one by no means have love in its power, and we can not say that we can be in love with a being, whenever we wish, but according to the circumstances and conditions; and a lover is not an active, but a purely passive being, and must, in the literal sense, often drag love along like a hundredweight; and there is sometimes no means whatsoever to rid itself of it as of another burden. [2] And so we think here also, if we were real masters of love, it would certainly not be wanting that we would take hold of the Lord with the blazing zeal of our hearts. But we can do what we want, we can pressure our heart and force our feelings as the grapes are pressed in a winepress, and everything comes out, rather than a flaming love described by you. [3] Hence we are of the opinion that either the love of the Lord must be of a completely different character than that when a man in the prime of his life not seldom find a beautiful maiden; but if the love of the Lord would be like the love for a virgin, it must be poured directly into the heart by the Lord Himself, according to His great mercy; otherwise it is almost impossible for man to be able to grasp the Lord with the strongest love out of his own power, when- and however he wanted. [4] And if, then, it then depends on us to suddenly awaken the greatest love for the Lord, the view of the wonders on this gallery will surely also present a great problem. For we can want it as much as possible, and yet, despite all our most intimate will, we can not inflame our heart in the moment of wanting, as if we light a candle at night. So here, dear friend and brother, a good council is very much needed. [5] Yes, my dear friends and brethren, you are right on the one hand, and love is always the master of mankind, as we have seen yesterday in the examples, because it is real life itself. But life cannot be mastered by what is not life; therefore, there must be something else which love would obey, and willingly follows the higher road of which it obeys. [6] But what is this means? This means consists in the clear idea of what one really wants to take hold of with the fullness of love. [7] Try to see if you can fall in love with any maiden, just by name, even if it would sound so majestic! Yes, you will not be able to go too far regarding love with such an acquaintance; for what one either knows either little or nothing of, cannot be loved, just as little as one can grasp with one's hands, which is not there or is only barely there. [8] If, however, you would be given a full description of the mentioned maiden with regard to her person and character, and if you would also receive a personal handwritten note from this girl in which she assures one or the other of you her devoted love because she was very positively impressed by the description of you given to her, your love for this girl will soon awaken, and you will begin to experience the most intense urge in you to go as soon as possible, where the girl waits on you in all love. And your love will become more and more intense as you receive even more positive information about the girl on the way there, or in the course of time. [9] Look, this is certainly true from experience. But I ask you now, how can you so mightily take this maiden into your heart, since you have never seen her, and she also deliberately does not give you a portrait, in order to give you a foretaste, which could weaken the true love? The answer is easy and rooted in experience: Because you have already formed a well-founded idea by which the above-mentioned girl has always been increasingly revealed to you in the most advantageous way. [10] Her qualities, her beauty, have captured you, and you cannot help but, besides the advantages she offers you, to respect and be fond of her; you have to also love her. [11] In this natural example, however, it is quite obvious how one can take hold of love for the Lord. [12] The recognition of the Lord is the mighty motive which unites the sparks in the heart, and then, through the same, the whole heart is kindled into a blazing flame. [13] Who would be able to love God, if he did not know Him? But those who recognize Him more and more will always love Him more and more. [14] But you should not flatly compare the love of the Lord with the love of a girl, but you should rather compare it to the purer love between children and parents. [15] This love, however, is not a kind of passionate fire, but it is a gentle breeze which do not disturb men in their own sphere of freedom, just as little as the childish love of the children in their activity. - They certainly love their parents exceedingly; of course, the good children are understood here. Yes, they often do not know how much they love their parents. [16] In order to see the measure of such love, you only have to be present at the grievous death of either the father or the mother of such children, and the tears and wringing of the hands will soon tell you the very weighty measure of the love of children towards their parents , And yet, during the lifetime of the parents, you would not have detected such intensity of love, even if you observed keenly. See, so it is with the love of the Lord. As I have said, it is a gentle breeze, a feeling of high esteem, a sublime delicate tone trail, and does not disturb anyone in its sphere of freedom. [17] The hearts of those who love God is not laden with passion, but fills it with great joy and sufficient living food, and continually saturates the spirit, heart, and body of man. Therefore you need to call your 'Father' only in your heart, and you have done enough! And the Father will always saturate and strengthen your heart with His love, as far as it is necessary. [18] You do not even need a picture, but only the realization in your heart from God, and you have enough love, as far as it is necessary here, to illuminate the miracles that are before our eyes. So do this, and then look!
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