Centuries of Meditations

86

Here upon Earth souls love what God hates, and hate what God loves. Did they keep their eye open always upon what He loves, and see His love to them, and to all, they could not choose but love as He does. And were they mirrors only that return His love, one would think it impossible, while He shines upon them, to forbear to shine, but they are like the eye, mirrors with lids, and the lid of ignorance or inconsideration interposing, they are oftentimes eclipsed or shine only through some crannies; so that here upon earth having free power to hold open or shut their lids, to send or turn away their beams, they may love me or forbear. The loss of their love is an evil past imagination, for it is the removal of the end of Heaven and Earth, the extinction of a Sun infinitely more glorious than that in the Heavens. The Sun was made to serve this more divine and glorious creature. The love of this creature is the end of Heaven and Earth, because the end for which Heaven and Earth were made [was] for it. And in recompense for all that God hath done for it it is to love me. So that God hath Glorified me, by giving me a communion with Himself in the end for which the world was made. And hath made that creature to love me, and given me so great a certainty of its love and title to it, that first it must cease to love itself, or to love God before it bereave me. It must cease to be wise, and forfeit all its interest in Heaven and Earth, before it can cease to love me. In doing it, it ruins itself and apostatizeth from all its happiness.