He who loves flyeth, runs, and is glad; he is free and not hindered. He gives all things for all things, and has all things in all things, because he rests in One who is high above all, from whom every good floweth and proceedeth.
He looks not for gifts, but turns himself to the Giver above all good things.
Love oftentimes knows no measure, but breaketh out above all measure; love feeleth no burden, reckoneth not labours, striveth after more than it is able to do, pleadeth not impossibility, because it judgeth all things which are lawful for it to be possible.
It is strong therefore for all things, and it fulfilleth many things, and is successful where he who loves not faileth and lies down.
✦ Love Flies, Runs, and Is Glad
After twelve days of stripping, teaching, warning, building — Kempis sings. The monk who spent eleven days laying the foundation now describes what rises from it. Love flies. Love runs. Love is glad. Love is free. Not hindered. The soul that has been emptied of the pride of knowledge, the insistence on rights, the curiosity about the future, the clinging to created things — that soul is now free to move. And she moves like fire.
He looks not for gifts, but turns himself to the Giver above all good things. This is the pivot. The soul that is still looking for gifts — blessings, answers, comfort, security — is still looking down. The soul that turns to the Giver looks up. And from that height — resting in One who is high above all — every good flows and proceeds. Not from the gifts. From the Giver.
Love knows no measure. Love feels no burden. Love reckons not labours. Love pleads not impossibility — because it judges all things possible. The soul that loves does not calculate whether something can be done. She does not weigh the cost against the return. She does not ask: is this reasonable? Love is not reasonable. Love is a living flame. And the flame does not negotiate with the darkness. It burns. 🙏
Love is watchful, and while sleeping still keeps watch; though fatigued it is not weary, though pressed it is not forced, though alarmed it is not terrified, but like the living flame and the burning torch, it breaketh forth on high and securely triumpheth.
If a man loves, he knows what this voice crieth. For the ardent affection of the soul is a great clamour in the ears of God, and it says: My God, my Beloved! You are all mine, and I am all Yours.
I have been experiencing a higher level of peace in my life and I am grateful. I feel very close to the Lord during this time of transition. Our minds have been expanding and a higher level of faith and trust in God. Many are the plans of a man but the Lord directs his steps.
✦ Like the Living Flame and the Burning Torch
Love is watchful — even in sleep. Love is fatigued — but not weary. Pressed — but not forced. Alarmed — but not terrified. Kempis describes love the way Paul described the soul in 2 Corinthians 4:8 — hard pressed on every side, yet not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair. The same resilience. The same unbreakable core. The flame that cannot be extinguished because its source is not within itself — its source is God.
It breaketh forth on high and securely triumpheth. Securely. The living flame does not triumph anxiously. It does not triumph by a narrow margin. It triumphs securely. Because the triumph was never in question. The love that was born of God returns to God — and nothing in heaven or on earth can stop it.
My God, my Beloved! You are all mine, and I am all Yours. Song of Solomon 2:16 — my beloved is mine, and I am his. The whole relationship in two phrases. Total possession. Total surrender. All mine. All Yours. And the testimony from the road confirms it: a higher level of peace. A closer walk. An expanding mind. A deeper trust. Not because the circumstances are easy — they are not — but because the love that breaks forth on high does not depend on circumstances. It depends on the Beloved. And He is unchanged.
Many are the plans of a man but the Lord directs his steps. Proverbs 16:9. The plans were Portugal. The direction was France. The plans were comfortable. The direction was growth. The Lord directs. And the love that follows His direction — flying, running, glad — triumphs securely. 🙏
Let me sing the song of love, let me follow You my Beloved on high, let my soul exhaust itself in Your praise, exulting with love.
Let me love You more than myself, not loving myself except for Your sake, and all men in You who truly love You, as the law of love commandeth which shines forth from You.
✦ Let My Soul Exhaust Itself
Let me sing the song of love. Kempis is no longer teaching. He is no longer stripping or warning or building. He is singing. The monk who spent eleven days clearing the ground now stands on it and lifts his voice. Let my soul exhaust itself in Your praise. Not conserve itself. Not pace itself. Exhaust itself. The love that knows no measure does not ration its praise. It gives everything — and in the giving, finds that everything is replenished.
Let me love You more than myself, not loving myself except for Your sake. The self is not destroyed. The self is not hated. The self is loved — for His sake. The self has value because He made it. But the self is not the center. He is. And the law of love — the law that shines forth from Him — is the law that governs everything. Love God. Love all men in Him. Love yourself for His sake. This is the whole law. This is the song. 🙏
A song parked in Le's brain and heart — the other side of Kempis's soaring hymn. Where Kempis sings upward, Keaggy sings from the ground. The soul found alone in the fields, crusted with the salt of her own ways, asking to be rinsed clean. The turning of the face toward the Son. The familiar refrain: forgive me. The cold heart. The old lie. The conscience that calls — and the leaving behind. And then the vision: sitting at His feet, living to tell all He has done, hope awarded living substance, and Heaven kissing Earth in reply.
✦ Two Songs, One Love
Kempis sings the song of the soul that soars — let me follow You on high, let my soul exhaust itself in Your praise. Keaggy sings the song of the soul that is found — alone, crusted, needing to be rinsed and forgiven. They are the same song. The soaring and the finding. The exhaust of praise and the familiar refrain of forgiveness. The living flame and the fields where the soul is found alone.
The 500 denari soul knows both songs from the inside. The one who was forgiven much sings the cry for forgiveness and the cry of love in the same breath — because they are the same cry. The soul that has been found in the fields crusted with salt is the soul that now breaks forth on high. The soul that whispers forgive me is the soul that shouts my God, my Beloved, You are all mine and I am all Yours.
And the closing vision — hope awarded living substance, Heaven kissing Earth — that is the great reversal Kempis described. The humble garment putting on beauty. The poor cottage more commended than the gilded palace. Enduring patience stronger than all the power of the world. On that day — then — Heaven will kiss Earth. And the song of love that began in the fields will be completed in the presence of the Beloved. 🙏
"My God, my Beloved! You are all mine, and I am all Yours."
Thomas à Kempis · The Imitation of Christ · The song of love from EymetLove Flies, Runs, and Is Glad
Love knows no measure, feels no burden, pleads not impossibility. The soul that turns to the Giver above all gifts is free — and she moves like fire.
The Living Flame
Watchful in sleep, unwearied in fatigue, unterrified when alarmed. Like the burning torch it breaks forth on high and securely triumphs. The triumph was never in question.
Two Songs, One Love
Kempis soars — let my soul exhaust itself. Keaggy grounds — find me in these fields alone. The cry for forgiveness and the cry of love are the same cry.
Higher Peace on the Road
Closer to the Lord during transition. Minds expanding. A higher level of faith and trust. Many are the plans of a man — but the Lord directs his steps.