the other day, in kahlil gibran’s poetic book The Prophet, i read about love. his musings on the Lord are part of that which lead me closer to God and understanding Him. this particular section on love gave voice to what i have matured in and been shown this semester. i wanted to share it with you. it is a little long, but i feel it contains so much truth. and i think you will be blessed.

i think “love” in this piece is two fold. i think it speaks of God, who is Love. but also of conceptual love. in some ways, it is incredibly romantic.

“Then said Almitra, Speak to us of Love.
And he raised his head and looked upon
the people, and there fell a stillness upon
them. And with a great voice he said:
When love beckons to you, follow him,
Though his ways are hard and steep.
And when his wings enfold you yield to
him,
Though the sword hidden amond his
pinions may wound you.
And when he speaks to you believe in
him,
Though his voice may shatter your dreams
as the north wind lays waste the garden.

For even as love crowns you so shall he
crucify you. Even as he is for your growth
so is he for your pruning.
Even as he ascends to your height and
caresses your tenderest branches that quiver
in the sun,
So shall he descend to your roots and
shake them in their clinging to the earth.

Like sheaves of corn he gathers you unto
himself.
He threshes you to make you naked.
He sifts you to free you from your husks.
He grinds you to whiteness.
He kneads you until you are pliant;
And then he assigns you to his sacred
fire, that you may become sacred bread for
God’s sacred feast.

All these things shall love do unto you
that you may know the secrets of your
heart, and in that knowledge become a
fragment of Life’s heart.

But if in your fear you would seek only
love’s peace and love’s pleasure,
Then it is better for you that you cover
your nakedness and pass out of love’s
threshing-floor,
Into the seasonless world where you
shall laugh, but not all of your laughter,
and weep, but not all of your tears.

Love gives naught but itself and takes
not but from itself.
Love possess not nor would it be
possessed;
For love is sufficient unto love.

When you love you should not say ,
‘God is in my heart,’ but rather, ‘ I am
in the heart of God.’
And think not you can direct the course
of love, for love, if it finds you worthy,
directs your course.

Love has no other desire but to fulfil
itself.
But if you love and must needs have
desires. let these be your desires:
To melt and be like a running brook
that sings its melody into the night.
To know the pain of too much tenderness.
To be wounded by your own understanding
of love;
And to bleed willingly and joyfully.
To wake at dawn with a winged heart
and give thanks for another day of loving;
To rest at the noon hour and meditate
love’s ecstasy;
To return home at eventide with gratitude;
And then to sleep with a prayer for the beloved
in your heart and a song of praise upon your lips.”

the entire piece is beautiful. and in my eyes, it seems to accurately speak of our God, who is Love, and how He relates to us in His love.

possibly my favorite part is the stanza which reads:

But if in your fear you would seek only love’s peace
and love’s pleasure,
Then it is better for you that you cover your
nakedness and pass out of love’s threshing-floor,
Into the seasonless world where you shall laugh,
but not all of your laughter,
and weep, but not all of your tears.

because i feel that God has taken me into the deepest things of life. that i have not only wanted to be a part of the peace and the pleasure, but have been grown through the suffering and pain which brings about good. He has not allowed me to only experience the shallow, for life in that sense is seasonless. i feel joy at having been able to thus far- laugh as deep as i can laugh, and weep as deep as i can weep.

it is my hope never to run or to ignore the pain, but to allow Him to complete His work in me.

and i know that it is a work of Love.