“If human love

does not carry a man beyond himself, it is not love. If love is always discreet, always wise, always sensible and calculating, never carried beyond itself, it is not love at all. It may be affection, it may be warmth of feeling, but it has not the true nature of love in it. Have I ever been carried away to do something for God not because it was my duty, nor because there was anything in it at all beyond the fact that I love Him? Not Divine, colossal things which could be recorded as marvellous, but ordinary, simple human things which will give evidence to God that I am abandoned to Him?

There are times when it seems as if God watches to see if we will give Him the tokens of how genuinely we do love Him. Abandon to God is of more value than personal holiness. Personal holiness focuses the eye on our own whiteness; we are greatly concerned about the way we walk and talk and look, fearful lest we offend Him. Perfect love cast out all that when once we are abandoned to God."

Oswald Chambers

The thing that struck me the most after reading this was how so many people I know are so careful when it comes to loving anyone, anything. Never carried away, never totally abandoned, never truly loving. How utterly sad.

Have you ever been carried away for Him? For anyone?