Love from above.

             I, as a selfish human, cannot love God without Him first loving me. Bernard of Clairvaux writes about this. He says that as humans, we are naturally self-loving. I know this is true; I feel it inside of me. It is the reason that I am most concerned with my own needs and wants. How can something that only loves self come to love God? By him loving me first. He showed me what love and sacrifice looks like. He is able to “soften” my heart because of his love. It is only after this that I can comprehend what real love is and begin to return it.

            What about loving other people? Bernard again writes that God must be loved first if one is to truly love others. I see this to be true, as well.  When I love Jesus, he becomee my focus and my desire. His love becomes what I want to share. And the love that he has towards me is the only true love that I can show to others. Human love can be selfish, but Jesus is the perfect example of real love. He is love. He gives me the desire to love the unlovely with purity and abandon to self. Without God loving me, I would not have the ability, or even want, to love others.