Friday, May 31, 2013

O Love of God, How Rich and Pure!

By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers.  (1 John 3:16)

For what more should I say?  Behold the mysteries of love.  And then you shall look into the bosom of the Father, whom God the only-begotten Son alone has declared.  And God Himself is love; and out of love to us became feminine.  In His ineffable essence He is Father; in His compassion to us He became Mother.  The Father by loving became feminine: and the great proof of this is He whom He begot of Himself; and the fruit brought forth by love is love.

For this also He came down.  For this He clothed Himself with man.  For this He voluntarily subjected Himself to the experiences of men, that by bringing Himself to the measure of our weakness whom He loved, He might correspondingly bring us to the measure of His own strength.  And about to be offered up and giving Himself a ransom, He left for us a new Covenant-testament: My love I give unto you.  And what and how great is it?  For each of us He gave His life,—the equivalent for all.  This He demands from us in return for one another.

Cyril of Alexandria, Who Is the Rich Man That Shall Be Saved? 37

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