Meditation Thought: “You are right, Teacher. You have truly said that he is one, and there is no other besides him. And to love him with all the heart and with all the understanding and with all the strength, and to love one’s neighbor as oneself, is much more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.” And when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” (Mark 12:32-34)
To love is to give – freely, joyfully, exuberantly. Our Creator is Love: If He who created us is Love, and we are His own children, we, too, have love within us. But love within is dormant: only as it is given, does it become active power. And only as it is received does it change.
We have been created in love, to be loved, and to express love. When we respond to love extended, we expand our capacity to receive love – and that also expands our capacity to give love. The more fully we are filled with love – of God, and of man – the more closely we come to the kingdom of God. The expression of love as we exist in human form is the vehicle we use to move along to the kingdom of God: we can make it the speed of light, or the pace of a turtle by the choosing of both the objects of our love (God or worldly idols, our neighbors or our own selfish whims) and the free expression of love, or the choice to suppress expression of love – for whatever reason, be it selfishness, laziness, fear of rejection or rebellion against the authority of God who has commanded us to love.
Meditations of Marie's Heart 