Love (Reciprocal)

“The primary vector in this complex of relationships [God and man] is vertical, that is, the relationship of man to God. Yet this vertical relationship with God is incomplete without the secondary, horizontal vector - the relationship of each human person to all other human persons. The bonding agent in this relationship of persons - God and humanity - is mutual love. The ultimate example is provided by the Holy Trinity, where the bond among the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit is reciprocal love. Therefore, the bond among the persons who constitute humanity must also be reciprocal love. One person cannot love himself. To be an authentic human being one must be in communion with other persons "loving one another in reciprocal relationship. The Christian way is in communion, each person with each other and all with God. For "God wants all men (human beings) to be saved and receive His Truth" (1 Tim 2:4).” (Rev. Dr. George C. Papademetriou) “God created everything to be in communion with Himself, and if that is done, humans will share the blissful blessings of peace, harmony and beauty that God planned for us. It is a reciprocal relationship. It means that as we learn to reach out beyond our own idea of those virtues and open ourselves to the promptings of the Spirit, we will develop an appetite for all that is best within and for us. God is always presenting all that is good and beneficial, the meaning of blessing.” (Fr. Vladimir Berzonsky) “Christian love is, preeminently, self-sacrificial love, so-called agapic love, that ideally is not motivated by the expectation of reciprocation.” (Vigen Guroian) “In social encounters where love, gentleness, kindness, and thoughtfulness are mocked, we are to love others beyond the standard of reciprocity (Luke 6:32). We are to do good even when the majority do not return favors (Luke 6:33), and lend when we have no reasonable assurance of repayment (Luke 6:34)…Our Lord places the lofty standards of heaven before us, insisting we rise above our self-serving nature.” (Dynamis 10/5/2014) “Love, in its purest form is a ‘one way street’ in a sense, meaning that when we express love it should not be motivated by the expectation of receiving love. This does not mean that we don’t want to receive love when we express it. Of course we do. We need love from others to literally survive. Rather, it means that if our love is in any way diminished because our expectation is not met, it shows us that our love is imperfect. It also doesn’t mean that we may not be hurt, or even hurt deeply; it just means our love should not grow less. It’s a high standard Christ sets for us but He does so because we are actually made for it. If we do feel our love diminish due to our hurt, we should not beat ourselves up because we can’t love perfectly as He loves. What we should do is bring this to prayer in humble acknowledgement of our weakness and ask Him for the grace to become more loving.” (Sacramental Living Ministries) #RevDrGeorgeCPapademetriou #FrVladimirBerzonsky #VigenGuroian #Dynamis #SacramentalLivingMinistries