Marriage is not the highest goal of life. God's image is reflected most brightly and completely where there is love first for him and then for our brothers and sisters. In true Christian marriage, then the husband will lead his wife and children not to himself, but to God. In the same way, a wife will support her husband as a helper,and together they will lead their children to honour them as father and mother, and to love God as their creator. To be a helper to another on God's behalf is not just an obligation, but a gift. How different our relationships would be if we rediscoved this! We live in a time when fear and mistrust grip us everywhere we go. Where is love, the love that builds community and the church?
There are two kinds of love. One is turned selflessly toward others and their well-being. The other is possessive and limited to the ego. Augustine says, "Love is the self of the soul, the hand of the soul. When it holds one thing, it cannot hold something else. If it is to hold what one gives it, it has to put down what it is holding." God's love desires nothing. It gives and sacrifices itself, for this is its joy.
Love always has its roots in God. May God grant that the power of his love grips anew. It will lead us to others, to share our lives with them. More than that, it will lead us to the kingdom. Love is the secret of God's coming kingdom.
There are two kinds of love. One is turned selflessly toward others and their well-being. The other is possessive and limited to the ego. Augustine says, "Love is the self of the soul, the hand of the soul. When it holds one thing, it cannot hold something else. If it is to hold what one gives it, it has to put down what it is holding." God's love desires nothing. It gives and sacrifices itself, for this is its joy.
Love always has its roots in God. May God grant that the power of his love grips anew. It will lead us to others, to share our lives with them. More than that, it will lead us to the kingdom. Love is the secret of God's coming kingdom.
