Revelations of Divine Love · 125 of 127 · tr. Grace Warrack

Chapter LXXXIV

"Charity" The light is Charity, and the measuring of this light is done to us profitably by the wisdom of God. For neither is the light so large that we may see our blissful Day, nor is it shut from us; but it is such a light in which we may live meedfully, with travail deserving the endless worship of God. And this was seen in the Sixth Shewing where He said: I thank thee of thy service and of thy travail . Thus Charity keepeth us in Faith and Hope, and Hope leadeth us in Charity. And in the end all shall be Charity. I had three manners of understanding of this light, Charity. The first is Charity unmade; the second is Charity made; the third is Charity given. Charity unmade is God; Charity made is our soul in God; Charity given is virtue. And that is a precious gift of working in which we love God, for Himself; and ourselves, in God; and that which God loveth, for God.

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Themes

◆Bhakti

The path of loving devotion and self-surrender to a personal deity as itself sufficient means of liberation — the Gita's 'to those constantly devoted, I come forward as their deliverer,' Kabir's and the Sant poets' love-religion, the devotional stream that parallels Sufi love-mysticism. Distinct from mystical_union (the resulting state), fana_annihilation (the ego's unmaking at the path's end), ladder_of_love (eros staged toward Beauty), and prayer (the practice of address): bhakti names devotion as the soteriological road itself.

The text defines the ultimate state as 'Charity' (love) and describes the path as loving God for Himself, aligning with devotion as the primary soteriological means.

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◆Divine Lighttheology

The uncreated luminous quality of the divine, sometimes experienced directly in mystical states; illumination as revelation.

The passage explicitly identifies Charity as 'the light' and structures the entire revelation around the nature and measurement of this divine illumination.

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◆Divine Simplicitytheology

The doctrine that God has no parts, divisions, or composite attributes; pure undivided being.

The identification of God directly as 'Charity unmade' implies a non-composite, simple divine nature where the essence is identical to the attribute.

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◆Love Of Neighbourethics

Active compassionate care for others as a central spiritual obligation or expression of divine love.

The definition of Charity given includes loving 'ourselves, in God' and 'that which God loveth,' extending divine love to the self and creation.

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◆Mystical Unionsoteriology

The merging of the individual soul or self with the divine, transcending personal identity.

The concept of 'Charity made' as the soul in God and the final state where 'all shall be Charity' points to a profound merging or union with the divine.

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◆Theosis Deificationsoteriology

The doctrine — central to Eastern Orthodox and Maximian theology — that the human person is progressively transformed into a partaker of the divine nature by grace, not merely justified or united in passing ecstasy.

The description of the soul as 'Charity made' in God and the transformation into a state of endless worship suggests a participatory deification.

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Related passages · 3 parallels

◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 661

“Section 22 22. That light known, then indeed we are stirred towards those Beings in longing and rejoicing over the radiance about them, just as earthly love is not for the material form but for the Beauty manifested upon it. Every one of th…”

Both passages explore the transformative power of divine love or goodness, describing how it awakens and elevates the soul. They share a conceptual parallel in the idea that divine light or goodness is the source of love and spiritual elevation, though expressed in different theological frameworks.

◆renaissance_hermeticism|Agrippa: The Philosophy of Natural Magic, Chapter XLIX — Of Light, Colors, Candles and Lamps, and to What Stars, Houses and Elements Several Colors Are Ascribed|Chapter XLIX, Section 1a

“CHAPTER XLIX. Of Light, Colors, Candles and Lamps, and to What Stars, Houses and Elements Several Colors Are Ascribed . Light also is a quality that partakes much of form, and is a simple act, and also a representation of the understandin…”

Both passages explore the concept of divine light as a central theme, describing its nature and its role in connecting the divine with the human. Passage A discusses light as Charity, a divine attribute that guides and sustains, while Passage B describes light as a quality diffused from the Mind of God, representing understanding and reason. Both texts emphasize the transformative and enlightening power of divine light.

◆sufism|The Masnavi, Book I (Rumi)|STORY Vd

“But the light that lights the heart is the Light of God, Which is distinct from the light of reason and sense. At night there is no light, and colors are not seen; Hence we know what light is by its opposite, darkness. At night no colors…”

Both passages explore the concept of divine light and its relationship to human understanding and experience. Passage A discusses the light of Charity as a means to understand and experience divine love, while Passage B describes the Light of God as distinct from worldly light and reason, emphasizing the hidden nature of God and the manifestation of divine attributes through opposites.