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Chapter 13
177
God love one another, truly, sincerely, unaffectedly—“without par-
tiality, and without hypocrisy.” And this because the heart is in love
with Jesus. Our affection for one another springs from our common
relation to God. We are one family, we love one another as He loved
us. When compared with this true, sanctified, disciplined affection,
the shallow courtesy of the world, the meaningless expressions of
effusive friendship, are as chaff to the wheat (
Letter 63, 1896
).
A Practical, Working Love
—To love as Christ loved means
to manifest unselfishness at all times and in all places, by kind
words and pleasant looks. These cost those who give them nothing,
but they leave behind a fragrance that surrounds the soul. Their
effect can never be estimated. Not only are they a blessing to the
receiver, but to the giver; for they react upon him. Genuine love is a
precious attribute of heavenly origin, which increases in fragrance
in proportion as it is dispensed to others....
Christ’s love is deep and earnest, flowing like an irrepressible
stream to all who will accept it. There is no selfishness in His love.
If this heaven-born love is an abiding principle in the heart, it will
make itself known, not only to those we hold most dear in sacred
relationship, but to all with whom we come in contact. It will lead
us to bestow little acts of attention, to make concessions, to perform
deeds of kindness, to speak tender, true, encouraging words. It will
lead us to sympathize with those whose hearts hunger for sympathy
(
Manuscript 17, 1899
).
Love One Another
—Selfishness and pride hinder the pure love
that unites us in spirit with Jesus Christ. If this love is truly cul-
tivated, finite will blend with finite, and all will center in the In-
finite. Humanity will unite with humanity, and all will be bound
up with the heart of Infinite Love. Sanctified love for one another
is sacred. In this great work Christian love for one another—far
higher, more constant, more courteous, more unselfish, than has
been seen—preserves Christian tenderness, Christian benevolence,
and politeness, and enfolds the human brotherhood in the embrace
of God, acknowledging the dignity with which God has invested the
rights of man. This dignity Christians must ever cultivate for the
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honor and glory of God....
The only begotten Son of God recognized the nobility of hu-
manity by taking humanity upon Himself, and dying in behalf of