BEGINNING OF LOVE

Thomas Merton (1915-1968) wrote, “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.”

This is certainly true, because the first several months (years?) of a relationship can be to twist the other person to fit into what we think they should be or become. It usually looks a lot like us. Allowing someone to be perfectly themselves is almost a way of saying we don’t care because we are not making them into our image. Weird and twisted thinking.

To let those we love be perfectly themselves is most violated by trying over and over again to twist and form God into my own image. We are already in God’s image according to Genesis so the twisting must be to switch from us being in his image to him being in ours. It usually looks a lot like us.

The beginning of love for God is to leave him perfectly in his image. No twisting and turning.

“But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” Jesus