God Is . . . (part three)

Finally, faith teaches us that God is love. This is a very difficult affirmation for the human spirit at times, because of the overwhelming amount of human misery and suffering by which our days are surrounded. All over the world, at this very moment, there is agony deeper that any formula of expression, the dumb inarticulate throb of which can only be sensed by a sympathy and understanding infinite in quality and limitless in grasp. Too, so much of human misery is poured out upon the innocent and helpless that life seems to be possessed of a vast hideous deviltry.

Of course, there has never been a completely satisfying answer to human suffering, particularly as to the why of it. It is clear that the profoundly significant reflection upon the misery of life must begin not with an idea of omnipotence but with the concept of love. But a step from the conception of God as the perfect Knowermen come inescapably to the conception of God as perfect Love. To know fully is to understand, and to understand is to care. The reason for affirming that God is love is based upon the fact that, in human experience, men discover that love is the most inclusive and completely inexhaustible aspect of life. Again and again, men have found the they will do gladly, for someone for whom their love is vast, what no power in heaven or hell could make them do if they did not love. Where love is great, we do for the beloved things which would be completely revolting if love were not. At every level of human life around us, we see this in operation. Therefore, whatever else God is, He must be love. He must be one with the most completely all-embracing, all-inspiring experience of human life. It is for this reason that, when a man is sure of God, God becomes not only his answer to the deeper needs of life but also sustaining confidence as he moves out upon the highway of life to meet the needs of other men. Wherever such a person goes he is a benediction, breathing peace.

(For the Inward Journey: the writings of Howard Thurman.
Selected by Anne Spencer Thurman. pages 118
originally published in Deep is the Hunger)

This morning I simply sit in confidence that the loves I know are real. They are not romantic and unreal projections; they are not manifestations of mental illness; they are not self-deceptions that cover my occasional sense of inadequacy. They are real, reflections of my authentic relationships with others, tested by the ways we have risked being human with one another.

I love the notion that “to know fully is to understand, and to understand is to care.” One colleague encouraged me to know that the quirky over-reactions I sometimes have about “the ways things should be” are ways to more fully understand what I really care about. (She also reminded me that I value people being caring persons quite highly.) She helped me to understand myself in a new way, and even re-framed something I was struggling with in a very. positive way. That sounds to me like care. That sounds to me like love.

Now to a few minutes of deep breathing with a simple half smile on my face and peace in my heart . . .