On Loving God
by St. Bernard of Clairvaux
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Chapter V. Of the Christian's debt of love, how great it is
From the contemplation of what has been said, we see plainly that God is to be
loved, and that He has a just claim upon our love. But the infidel does not
acknowledge the Son of God, and so he can know neither the Father nor the Holy
Spirit; for he that honoureth not the Son, honoureth not the Father which sent
Him, nor the Spirit whom He hath sent (John 5:23). He knows less of God than
we; no wonder that he loves God less. This much he understands at least--that
he owes all he is to his Creator. But how will it be with me? For I know that
my God is not merely the bounteous Bestower of my life, the generous Provider
for all my needs, the pitiful Consoler of all my sorrows, the wise Guide of my
course: but that He is far more than all that. He saves me with an abundant
deliverance: He is my eternal Preserver, the portion of my inheritance, my
glory. Even so it is written, 'With Him is plenteous redemption' (Ps. 130:7);
and again, 'He entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal
redemption for us' (Heb. 9:12). Of His salvation it is written, 'He forsaketh
not His that be godly; but they are preserved for ever' (Ps. 37:28); and of His
bounty, 'Good measure, pressed down and shaken together, and running over,
shall men give into your bosom' (Luke 6:38); and in another place, 'Eye hath
not seen nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, those
things which God hath prepared for them that love Him' (I Cor. 2:9). He will
glorify us, even as the apostle beareth witness, saying, 'We look for the
Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall change our vile body that it may be
fashioned like unto His glorious body' (Phil. 3:20f); and again, 'I reckon that
the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the
glory which shall be revealed in us' (Rom. 8:18); and once more, 'Our light
affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and
eternal weight of glory; while we look not at the things which are seen, but at
the things which are not seen (II Cor. 4:17f).
'What shall I render unto the Lord for all His benefits towards me?' (Ps.
116:12). Reason and natural justice alike move me to give up myself wholly to
loving Him to whom I owe all that I have and am. But faith shows me that I
should love Him far more than I love myself, as I come to realize that He hath
given me not my own life only, but even Himself. Yet, before the time of full
revelation had come, before the Word was made flesh, died on the Cross, came
forth from the grave, and returned to His Father; before God had shown us how
much He loved us by all this plenitude of grace, the commandment had been
uttered, 'Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all
thy soul and with all thy might' (Deut. 6:5), that is, with all thy being, all
thy knowledge, all thy powers. And it was not unjust for God to claim this from
His own work and gifts. Why should not the creature love his Creator, who gave
him the power to love? Why should he not love Him with all his being, since it
is by His gift alone that he can do anything that is good? It was God's
creative grace that out of nothingness raised us to the dignity of manhood; and
from this appears our duty to love Him, and the justice of His claim to that
love. But how infinitely is the benefit increased when we bethink ourselves of
His fulfillment of the promise, 'thou, Lord, shalt save both man and beast: how
excellent is Thy mercy, O Lord!' (Ps. 36:6f). For we, who 'turned our glory
into the similitude of a calf that eateth hay' (Ps. 106:20), by our evil deeds
debased ourselves so that we might be compared unto the beasts that perish. I
owe all that I am to Him who made me: but how can I pay my debt to Him who
redeemed me, and in such wondrous wise? Creation was not so vast a work as
redemption; for it is written of man and of all things that were made, 'He
spake the word, and they were made' (Ps. 148:5). But to redeem that creation
which sprang into being at His word, how much He spake, what wonders He
wrought, what hardships He endured, what shames He suffered! Therefore what
reward shall I give unto the Lord for all the benefits which He hath done unto
me? In the first creation He gave me myself; but in His new creation He gave me
Himself, and by that gift restored to me the self that I had lost. Created
first and then restored, I owe Him myself twice over in return for myself. But
what have I to offer Him for the gift of Himself? Could I multiply myself a
thousand-fold and then give Him all, what would that be in comparison with
God?
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