From The Epistle to Diognetus: In understanding the love of God, let us imitate the generous kindness of God and grasp the real life of heaven!

Home » Meditations » Meditations » From The Epistle to Diognetus: In understanding the love of God, let us imitate the generous kindness of God and grasp the real life of heaven!

“If this is the faith which you, too, desire, then you should, first of all, acquire a thorough knowledge of the Father. The fact is, God loved men, and it was for their sake that He made the world; at their service, He placed everything on earth; to them He gave reason and intelligence; them alone He endowed with the ability to look up to Him; them He formed after His own image; to them He sent His Only-begotten Son; to them He promised the kingdom in heaven, and this He will give to those that love Him. And when you have acquired this knowledge, with what joy do you think you will be filed. Or how intensely will you love Him who first loved you so! And once you love Him, you will be an imitator of His kindness. And you must not be surprised that man can become an imitator of God. He can, since He so wills. Certainly, to be happy does not mean to tyrannize over one’s neighbors, or to wish to have an advantage over the weaker ones, or to be rich and therefore able to use force against one’s inferiors. It is not in such matters that one can imitate God; no, such matters are foreign to His majesty. On the other hand, he who takes his neighbor’s burden upon himself, who is willing to benefit his inferior in a matter in which he is his superior, who provides the needy with what he himself has received from God and thus becomes the god of his recipients–he, I say, is an imitator of God. Then you will realize, while your lot is on earth, that God lives in heaven; then you will in good earnest discourse on the mysteries of God; then you will love and admire those who submit to punishment for their refusal to deny God; then you will condemn the deceitfulness of the world and its error once you understand the real life of heaven…”

The Epistle to Diognetus x.2-7