Precept and Practice – AUGUST 12 – Love – An Efflux

Love is from soul to soul – with God for both.   The claim of a human soul on human loyalty can never be abrogated, either by death or sin…..

There is no human being we desert, however base, however thankless, but we are guilty of unfaithfulness to the friend whom we most reverence, and to God.   We have ignored the spiritual oneness of the universe, and mistaken the nature of love. – that ‘ever fixed mark,’ which is unshaken by the tempest of passion.   It is good to be in love, but to love is better.   Love may not always be vivid and overwhelming, but it is always patient and strong.

It is like the love of God, who serves His children through their righteousness or through their sin.  ‘Oh,’  we say ‘but human love cannot be like God’s love.’  If not, it had better give up calling itself love at all.   True love will lay down its life for the friend who has betrayed it – a friend still.

It looks beyond betrayal and ingratitude, and dreams of him as he is in the creative, timeless thought of God.   That is the only love that must endure.

(May Kendall)

(Jean Ingelow)

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From the Introduction to Precept and Practice

The kindly welcome given to my other little books, ‘Being and Doing’ and ‘Character and Conduct,’ must be my excuse for adding another collection of extracts to the number now in circulation.

The quotations are gathered from the books of many earnest thinkers, and deal with Life in all its length and breadth, with ourselves, our characters, our plain unvarnished faults and weaknesses, our often untoward circumstances, and with all that drags us down;-  with our purposes, our religion, our love and friendships, and with all that uplifts us;-  with our relation to others, our influence and responsibilities, and finally with those stages of our journey which bring us to the Road’s Last Turn and to the Silent Land.

CONSTANCE  M. WHISHAW