Augustine

"Love, and then do what you please." Saint Augustine.

I take this to mean that if we have God's love in our heart we will be pleased to do good. "God is love," the Bible says. Love only does what is good.

Human love is not perfect however. I know I indulged my children sometimes because I loved them. I have loved men who mistreated me. I love chocolate, even though it makes me sick.

Love. It's a complicated thing. God's love is so far above and beyond human love; all we can do is pray he will fill us with it every day.

Someone once called Jesus "good". Jesus said, "No one is good but God alone."(Mark 10:18) He was trying to tell this man that in ourselves there is nothing good. Not truly, purely good. Without God we can love, but not perfectly - not in the right way. Our selfishness always gets in the way.

If we want true love in our hearts - it must come from God.