“Learn to Love God for Himself Alone 學習只因神自己而愛祂“（1 John 約翰一書 4:19-21）
We love because he first loved us. Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen. And he has given us this command: anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister.
我們愛，因為神先愛我們。人若說“我愛神”，卻恨他的弟兄，就是說謊的。不愛看得見的弟兄，就不能愛看不見的神。愛神的，也應當愛弟兄，這就是我們從神領受的命令。
The love of God means both God’s love for us and our love for Him. Our love for God must be carried to Him further than love of gratitude and love of excellence! Though all love originates in God and is for that reason God’s own love, yet we are permitted to catch and reflect back that love. Thus it becomes our love. Loving God for Himself alone is the higher type of love that does not involve any thought of His benefits and no proof can be offered. In the perfection of love, the heart does not reason from admiration to affection, but quickly rises to the height of blind adoration where reason is suspended and the heart worships in unreasoning blessedness exclaiming “Holy, holy, holy,” while scarcely knowing what it means. We can also learn how to love God by loving people.
「神的愛」意味著既是神對我們的愛，又是我們對祂的愛。我們對神的愛必須超越由感激而生的愛，和由渴慕祂完美屬性而生的愛！雖然所有的愛源出於神，為那個原因亦是神自己的愛，但我們仍蒙神允許，讓我們可以得著和回應它，使它成為我們的愛。單單因為神自己而愛祂是更高的愛，沒有想及祂的恩澤，也無法證明之。在完全的愛裡，心靈不須理解自己如何「 從傾慕到深愛」，只是迅速升至盲目祟拜的高峯。在那裡，理性被縣空了，心靈在不可言喻的福祉中敬拜，只能高呼：「聖哉，聖哉，聖哉！ 」卻差點兒不曉得那是甚麽意思。我們從愛人當中也能夠學習如何去愛神。
Prayer: Our Father in heaven, we do need the help of the Holy Spirit to know the extent of your love in a life-changing way. Grant us a powerful, fresh revelation of your love in our lives day by day. May your perfect love drive out our fear and prompt us to observe your command of loving one another. Amen.
禱告: 我們在天上的父啊，我們真的需要聖靈的幫助，在生命改變的路途上去認識你愛的程度。求你一日復一日賜給我們，你在我們生命裡，強有力而新鮮之愛的啟示。願你完全的愛把我們的懼怕驅除，並促使我們遵守你定下彼此相愛的命令。阿們。
