Having embarked on this series of essays about various inner actions, it seems appropriate to wrap things up in one way or another with a final essay that centers on the question of Love, which, after all, is the Divine motivational force for all of Being.
An extraordinary and intimate observation is necessary, from an inner point of view, because we need to see that we are not loving. To the extent that we see this, we may become loving; yet we only become loving through a willingness to suffer ourselves, surrender ourselves, and give ourselves up to become agencies of the Lord.
These are fairly high-minded ideas, but they can be easily applied to the intimate and merciless examination of each separate thought and action we have, all day long. Look, look, look; every single manifestation needs to be seen. If we do not suffer and question our selfishness and our relentless ego-manifestations on a nearly constant basis, without judgment, but with a willingness to see and move on, the action of love cannot enter.
Love always begins with a question: not loving? One must prepare oneself and consider every outward action from this point of view.
One is bound to fail. Yet one must try. If one asks, always, not loving? in regard to one's outer action, one is actually issuing a call for help, since this is a form of confessional; yet not a rote form of confessional, rather, an active form of confessional that goes hand-in-hand with the daily practice of prayer consisting of Lord have mercy, Christ have mercy.
We are helpless in the face of our sin and iniquity. The belief that we have power is part of our sin and our iniquity. In the same way that the lamb must be sacrificed, and the sheep shorn of its wool, all of these things have to go in order for Love to manifest.
In what will sound like a paradox, opening to one's suffering — one's inner suffering — will invariably and inevitably lead to the highest expression of Love that is possible for a human being, on this level. This is a mystery that cannot be explained any further here, because each human being must reach a certain level of understanding within themselves and for themselves in order to discover what it means. Even though one could write a detailed description of it, it would be a pale shadow of what actually takes place. Sacred things of this kind must be earned.
We are here to express the action of Love through suffering. Once again, this is one of the meanings of Christ's crucifixion. It is talked about in church; and held up as a symbol. But what we are meant to do is live it; and that action of living it involves an inner sacrifice which we must come to understand in our personal covenant with God.
May your soul be filled with light.