The following is taken from chapters 7 and 8 of Book two in the Imitation of Christ by Thomas Kempis.
7. Loving Jesus Above All Things
Blessed is he who appreciates what it is to love Jesus and who despises himself for the sake of Jesus. Give up all other love for His, since He wishes to be loved alone above all things.
Affection
for creatures is deceitful and inconstant, but the love of Jesus is true and
enduring. He who clings to a creature will fall with its frailty, but he who
gives himself to Jesus will ever be strengthened.
Love
Him, then; keep Him as a friend. He will not leave you as others do, or let you
suffer lasting death. Sometime, whether you will or not, you will have to part
with everything. Cling, therefore, to Jesus in life and death; trust yourself
to the glory of Him who alone can help you when all others fail.
Your
Beloved is such that He will not accept what belongs to another -- He wants
your heart for Himself alone, to be enthroned therein as King in His own right.
If you but knew how to free yourself entirely from all creatures, Jesus would
gladly dwell within you.
You
will find, apart from Him, that nearly all the trust you place in men is a
total loss. Therefore, neither confide in nor depend upon a wind-shaken reed,
for "all flesh is grass" and all its glory, like the flower of
grass, will fade away
You
will quickly be deceived if you look only to the outward appearance of men, and
you will often be disappointed if you seek comfort and gain in them. If,
however, you seek Jesus in all things, you will surely find Him. Likewise, if
you seek yourself, you will find yourself -- to your own ruin. For the man who
does not seek Jesus does himself much greater harm than the whole world and all
his enemies could ever do.
8. The Intimate Friendship of Jesus
Jesus Christ must be loved alone with a special love for He alone, of all friends, is good and faithful. For Him and in Him you must love friends and foes alike, and pray to Him that all may know and love Him.
When the grace of God comes to a man he can do all things, but when it leaves him he becomes poor and weak, abandoned, as it were, to affliction.
8. The Intimate Friendship of Jesus
When
Jesus is near, all is well and nothing seems difficult. When He is absent, all
is hard. When Jesus does not speak within, all other comfort is empty, but if
He says only a word, it brings great consolation.
Did not Mary Magdalen rise at once from her weeping when Martha said to her:
"The Master is come, and calleth for thee"? Happy is the hour when
Jesus calls one from tears to joy of spirit.
How
dry and hard you are without Jesus! How foolish and vain if you desire anything
but Him! Is it not a greater loss than losing the whole world? For what,
without Jesus, can the world give you? Life without Him is a relentless hell,
but living with Him is a sweet paradise. If Jesus be with you, no enemy can
harm you.
He
who finds Jesus finds a rare treasure, indeed, a good above every good, whereas
he who loses Him loses more than the whole world. The man who lives without
Jesus is the poorest of the poor, whereas no one is so rich as the man who
lives in His grace.
It
is a great art to know how to converse with Jesus, and great wisdom to know how
to keep Him. Be humble and peaceful, and Jesus will be with you. Be devout and
calm, and He will remain with you. You may quickly drive Him away and lose His
grace, if you turn back to the outside world. And, if you drive Him away and
lose Him, to whom will you go and whom will you then seek as a friend? You
cannot live well without a friend, and if Jesus be not your friend above all
else, you will be very sad and desolate. Thus, you are acting foolishly if you
trust or rejoice in any other. Choose the opposition of the whole world rather
than offend Jesus. Of all those who are dear to you, let Him be your special
love. Let all things be loved for the sake of Jesus, but Jesus for His own
sake.
Jesus Christ must be loved alone with a special love for He alone, of all friends, is good and faithful. For Him and in Him you must love friends and foes alike, and pray to Him that all may know and love Him.
Never
desire special praise or love, for that belongs to God alone Who has no equal.
Never wish that anyone's affection be centered in you, nor let yourself be
taken up with the love of anyone, but let Jesus be in you and in every good
man. Be pure and free within, unentangled with any creature.
You
must bring to God a clean and open heart if you wish to attend and see how
sweet the Lord is. Truly you will never attain this happiness unless His grace
prepares you and draws you on so that you may forsake all things to be united
with Him alone.
When the grace of God comes to a man he can do all things, but when it leaves him he becomes poor and weak, abandoned, as it were, to affliction.
Yet,
in this condition he should not become dejected or despair. On the contrary, he
should calmly await the will of God and bear whatever befalls him in praise of
Jesus Christ, for after winter comes summer, after night, the day, and after
the storm, a great calm.
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