We are just a little tiny flicker of a much larger flame that is Life itself, Consciousness itself, Being itself, Love itself, God's very self.

But it is doubtless true, and evident from [the] Scriptures, that the essence of all true religion lies in holy love; and that in this divine affection, and an habitual disposition to it, and that light which is the foundation of it, and those things which are the fruits of it, consists the whole of religion.

Their hearts shall be full of love. That which was in the heart on earth as but a grain of mustard-seed, shall be as a great tree in heaven. The soul that in this world had only a little spark of divine love in it, in heaven shall be, as it were, turned into a bright and ardent flame, like the sun in its fullest brightness, when it has no spot upon it.

the divine virtue, or the virtue of the divine mind, must consist primarily in love to himself, or in the mutual love and friendship which subsists eternally and necessarily between the several persons in the Godhead, or that infinitely strong propensity there is in these divine persons one to another.

While many people love you because or love you if, God loves you period.

It's my conviction that we are made to perpetually share in a life in which we are perfectly and unconditionally loved, in which we experientially know we could not matter more to God than we already do, and in which we feel absolutely secure in this love and worth, for we know that nothing—including the loss of our biological life—could cause us to lose this life.

It is the most fundamental reason why each of us exists. Scripture calls it "abiding in Christ" (John 15:4; cf. 1 John 4:16). God's desire is for us to participate in his own eternal love and life and therefore in his own eternal joy and peace by dwelling in the Son.

As the New Testament and the church tradition teach, the life of God is nothing other than the perfect love that eternally unites the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and this Triune God spoke creation into being with the ultimate goal of inviting humans to share in this life. This is what God created us to long for!

This is the foundation of all sin: the lie that God is untrustworthy, the lie that God is not altogether loving and that he doesn't have our best interests in mind.

The challenge, then, is not first and foremost to love like Christ. The challenge is to live in Christ's love, for only then can we love as Christ loved. And as with everything else about our lives, this can only be done in each present moment.

God's love and justice are much more dynamic than many of our theologies allow for.

Put together all the tenderest love you know of, multiply it by infinity, and you will begin to see glimpses of the love and grace of God.