“The beginning of love is the will to let those we love be perfectly themselves, the resolution not to twist them to fit our own image. If in loving them we do not love what they are, but only their potential likeness to ourselves, then we do not love them: we only love the reflection of ourselves we find in them” — Thomas Merton
Posts Tagged ‘likeness’
Perfectly Ourselves
Posted: May 24, 2013 in UncategorizedTags: God, Holy Spirit, Jesus, likeness, love, mold, perfectly ourselves, potential, reflection, resolve, Thomas Merton, twist
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Then
Posted: May 16, 2012 in UncategorizedTags: anti-self, astounding, care, change, change the world, commandment, emptiness, fulfillment, God, God's power, Holy Spirit, Jesus, like, likeness, love, peace, power, sacrifice, then, truth
Then we can see God’s power working in us and through us. And what will be seen is love. Love is the anti self. I would define love as when you care more about someone than you do yourself. Jesus says love is the first and only commandment that all the law and prophets hang on this one thing. Love by nature is sacrificial. Christ’s example of love was sacrifice. Scripture says we are to die to self. When we come to understand this simple truth the results are astounding. Not only do we join God in changing the world, we are changed into His likeness and the futile pursuit of emptiness is replaced with the peace and fulfillment that only a life with Him can bring.
The Better Thing 