by Thomas Kempis

Blessed is he who knows how good it is to Love Jesus and, for His sake, to despise himself. It behooves the lover of Jesus to forsake all other love besides Him, for He will be loved alone, above all others. The love of creatures is deceptive and disappointing, but the love of Jesus is faithful and always abiding. He who clings to any creature must of necessity fail as the creature fails. But he who cleaves abidingly to Jesus shall be made firm in Him forever.

Love Him, therefore, and hold Him for your friend, for when all others forsake you, He will not forsake you, or suffer you finally to perish. You must, of necessity, leave your friends and company of all men, whether you will or not, and therefore keep yourself in the company of your Lord Jesus, living and dying. Commit yourself to His fidelity, and He will be with you and help you when all others forsake you. Your Beloved is of such nature that He will not admit any other love, for He alone will have the love of your heart, and will sit therein as a king, on His proper throne. If you could empty yourself of the love of creatures, He would always abide with you and never forsake you.

You will find that all trust is, in a way, lost, which is put elsewhere save in Jesus. Do not, therefore, put your trust in anything that is only a reed full of wind, or a hollow stick which cannot hold you up or help you, but rather, when you need it most, will fail you. Man is but grass, and all his glory is as a flower of the fields which suddenly vanishes away.

If you take heed only to the outward appearances you will soon be deceived, and if you seek your comfort in anything but in Jesus you will soon feel great spiritual loss. If you seek Lord Jesus in all things you will truly find Him, but if you seek yourself you will find yourself, and that will be to your own great loss. Truly, a man is more grievous and more harmful to himself if he does not seek Christ than is all the world and all his adversaries together.