Thought for the Week: The joyous gift of love
Bob Lovett reflects on the nature of love
There was much of love in a recent issue of the Friend. It reminded me of the following ministry given by a young Friend some weeks ago.
She explained that her mother had recently died and in her will had written that, while she had little material wealth to pass on to her children, she had been given an enormous amount of love during her lifetime, and it was the wealth of that love that she wished to pass on as a gift to them.
Since then I have found myself constantly returning to thoughts about the nature of love, and I cannot rid myself of the idea that love is a gift. Indeed, not just any old gift, but the most important gift any of us will ever receive or give. I am reminded of the following saying, which seems to have been with me all of my life but whose origin escapes me:
The love which I have is the love I’ve been given
And the love which I give is the love which I have.
This facility for love to be both given and received makes each of us a reservoir, a cistern of constant renewal, replenishment and succour. Surely, this was the gift given to us by Jesus and the gift, which we, as members of the Religious Society of Friends, give to one another and the world.
You need to login to read subscriber-only content and/or comment on articles.