THE GOOD NEWS OF GOD




SERMON I. THE BEATIFIC VISION



MATTHEW xxii. 27.

Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy
soul, and with all thy mind.

These words often puzzle and pain really good people, because they
seem to put the hardest duty first. It seems, at times, so much more
easy to love one's neighbour than to love God. And strange as it may
seem, that is partly true. St. John tells us so--'He that loves not
his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not
seen?' Therefore many good people, who really do love God, are
unhappy at times because they feel that they do not love him enough.
They say in their hearts--'I wish to do right, and I try to do it:
but I am afraid I do not do it from love to God.'

I think that they are often too hard upon themselves. I believe that
they are very often loving God with their whole hearts, when they
think that they are not doing so. But still, it is well to be afraid
of oneself, and dissatisfied with oneself.

I think, too--nay, I am certain--that many good people do not love