Читать книгу Beyond the Horizon - Harry A. Renfree - Страница 50

February 13

Robert Browning and his wife Elizabeth Barrett Browning were both eminent British poets of the nineteenth century.

One morning in their home, Elizabeth slipped a manuscript into her husband’s pocket saying: “Please read this; if you don’t like it, tear it up.” Then she fled back upstairs while Robert Browning sat down to read one of the noblest love sequences ever written by a woman to the man of her choice. Hidden in one of these “Sonnets from the Portuguese” is this line: “The face of all the world is changed, I think, since first I heard the footsteps of thy soul.”

Fine sentiments as we approach Valentine’s Day.

For most of us, these words have a rich, deep meaning on a human level. Beyond that, they have a vibrant meaning on a spiritual level. Indeed, true human love has a significantly spiritual aspect about it.

The true love we show all mankind is really reflected love from God. “We love because he first loved us” (1 John 4:19). In 1 John 3:11 we read: “This is the message you heard from the beginning: We should love one another.” And in the great love chapter of the Bible,

1 Corinthians 13, Paul writes: “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. Love never fails . . . And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.”

And you and I can say of our master (paraphrasing Elizabeth Barrett Browning): “The face of all the world is changed, since first I heard the footsteps of Thy soul.” God is love.