“I don’t know why we’re on this earth,” says Stephen. “… But if I wanted to find the answer, I would begin with how much I love you.” [Richard Osman’s 4th Thursday Murder Club Mystery]
When we stop to think about purpose and what’s really important, we usually come back to our relationships, cherishing most those relationships characterised by love. So what is it about love that draws us?
The apostle John tells us (twice – 1 John 4:8 and 16) that God is love, and I wonder if there’s a connection between the love-nature of God and the love-desire in our hearts (we are, after all, made in the image of God – Genesis 1:27)?
Richard of St Victor (C12th) argues that God’s love can only be perfect if He is three persons: a person who loves; a person who is loved; a person who shares the love of the two. One person alone has no one to love; two persons’ love is reciprocal; only with three persons does love become the truly perfect Divine love.
Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. 1 John 4:8.
Raymond.