Love in its nature makes a human being like God, as far as is possible for a human being. The soul is intoxicated by the effects of it. Its characteristics are a fountain of faith, an abyss of patience, an ocean of humility.
Love is the complete repudiation of any unkind thought about one’s neighbor, since, “Love thinks no evil” (1 Corinthians 13:5).
Love, unchangeable tranquility, and our adoption as children of God are different from each other only in name. As light, fire and flame are present in the selfsame operation, so are these three manifestations of the Spirit.
When someone is completely permeated with the love of God, the brightness of his soul is reflected by his whole personality as if in a mirror.
Therefore the one who loves God also loves his brother or sister. Indeed, the second love is the proof of the first.
St. John Climacus
Ladder of Divine Ascent
