Thought for the Day

Monday 14 July

Temperance is love surrendering itself wholly to Him who is its object; courage is love bearing all things gladly for the sake of Him who is its object; justice is love serving only Him who is its object, and therefore rightly ruling; prudence is love making wise distinctions between what hinders and what helps itself.

— Saint Augustine

Eknath Easwaran's Commentary

Love of God is not something that descends miraculously from the skies. It can be fostered and deepened immensely through our own effort. At present, very little of our love may be flowing to our highest ideals. Most of it is flowing down other channels – towards money, or pleasure, or a new sports car. In some cases, our vital capacity has been flowing down these channels for so long that they are cut very deep. Then, when the time comes to dam these channels up and divert the love in them to flow towards the Lord or the divine Self, we feel we are standing there throwing pebbles into the Grand Canyon. Don’t be discouraged by the immensity of the task. Just keep on throwing in the pebbles. They may not seem like much, but after a while they all add up.

The Thought for the Day is today's entry from Eknath Easwaran's Words to Live By.