amazed delighted and blessed yet again by the man a shop-girl described to me once as a rather old writer, isn't he?
affection, he says, grows out of proximity. a common product, but not the only possible product. nor necessarily an enduring product. this brings me relief, for the many times my unredeemed affection would go no further, and could go no further.
and affection corrupted becomes a most ugly perversion indeed, whether it be an inordinate need for, or an abnormal desire to give. i have seen both the passive aggressive neediness and the smothering distortion that yet bears the name of love.
friendship, he says, is the most unobligated form of love. we love in friendship because we share common interests hopes or values, not because we are thrown together or because we admire each other. in the bible we have God the father and Christ the husband, but only Abraham is called God's friend. the love of friends is not a common descriptor of God's love. but oh! on earth the love of friends enriches me indeed.
charity is God's love. it is the form to which the human loves turn, in God's time and with his guidance. the charity of receiving in gratitude what we do not deserve and the charity of giving beyond what we are able come from our heavenly Father and only with his help. may i learn to love with charity.
i am amazed by his insights and delighted by his easy language. and sly humor.
