The Imitation of Christ · Theme
Love of God Above All
How The Imitation of Christ develops Love of God Above All.
The ultimate goal is to rest in God alone, loving Him above every creature and gift, and finding in Him the sole source of true joy, peace, and fulfillment, with all other loves being subordinate and purified.
Where it surfaces
- On Avoiding Rash Judgment
States that if God were the sole object of desire, one would be less troubled by erring judgments, highlighting the primacy of love for God.
- Of Works of Charity
The chapter teaches that true charity seeks God alone as the highest good, desiring His glory above all else.
- Of the Inward Life
Emphasizes putting whole trust in God, loving Christ above all, and finding rest only in union with Him.
- Of loving Jesus above all things
The central theme: Jesus must be loved alone above all things, and all created loves are deceiving and unstable.
- Of the Intimate Love of Jesus
The chapter explicitly teaches that Jesus alone is to be specially loved, and all others for His sake.
- Of the fewness of those who love the Cross of Jesus
Pure love of Jesus for His own sake, not for consolation, is exalted as the highest virtue.
- Of the Inward Voice of Christ to the Faithful Soul
The soul is called to give itself wholly to the Creator to be well pleasing and faithful.
- Of the Wonderful Power of the Divine Love
The entire chapter is a celebration of divine love as the highest good, which makes all burdens light and leads the soul to rest in God alone.
- Of the Proving of the True Lover
The chapter contrasts love for the gift versus love for the Giver, urging the lover to rest in God above every gift.
- That all things are to be referred to God, as the final end
The chapter calls for God to be the supreme and final end, with all affections purified and directed toward Him alone.
- Chapter X: That it is sweet to despise the world and to serve God
The narrator marvels at God's love and commands to love Him, and finds sweetness in contemplation of God.
- XVI
True solace is found only in God, and the soul is called to desire eternal things above all temporal delights.
- XXI
The chapter explicitly calls for resting in God above all creatures, gifts, and consolations.
- Of the recollection of God's manifold benefits
God's will and the love of His honor should surpass all benefits and personal desires, bringing comfort and joy in any circumstance.
- XXVII
The prayer asks for grace to seek, find, relish, and love God above all things, and to understand all else according to divine wisdom.
- Of Instability of the Heart, and of Directing the Aim Towards God
The pure intention is to direct all desires and actions toward God, avoiding self-seeking and worldly distractions.
- That to him who loveth God is sweet above all things and in all things
The entire chapter exalts the sweetness of loving God above all things, finding all joy in His presence.
- Against Vain and Worldly Knowledge
The chapter culminates in the call to love God ardently above all things.
- That all troubles are to be endured for the sake of eternal life
The promise of God's reward and the call to labor faithfully in His vineyard emphasize prioritizing divine love over temporal ease.
- Of the Day of Eternity and of the Straitnesses of This Life
The chapter teaches that where one's treasure is, there the heart will be, and blesses those who for God's sake part from all creatures.
- Of the desire after eternal life, and how great blessings are promised to those who strive.
The disciple is instructed to seek what is acceptable to God rather than his own desires, cleaving to God with all affection.
- LVIII: Of Deeper Matters, and God's Hidden Judgments Which Are Not to Be Inquired Into
The Saints are described as loving God above themselves and their own merits, resting in Him with perfect enjoyment and burning with the fire of inextinguishable charity.
- That all hope and trust is to be fixed in God alone
The narrator expresses a preference for poverty with God over riches without Him, and considers God's presence as heaven and His absence as death and hell.
- Book IV: Of the Sacrament of the Altar
Christ's invitation to come unto Him and the promise of mutual indwelling highlight the primacy of divine love.
- II
The chapter extols God's immense charity and condescension in giving Himself as food.
- XI
The Disciple expresses that nothing in the world can comfort him except God alone, whom he desires to contemplate eternally.
- That the devout soul ought with the whole heart to yearn after union with Christ in the Sacrament
The disciple desires to withdraw from all created things and be wholly united with God, offering his heart as the greatest gift.
- Of the fervent desire of certain devout persons to receive the Body and Blood of Christ
The Disciple yearns for a heart wholly kindled with love for God, seeking to share in the ardent charity of the devout.
- XVI
The Disciple desires that Christ alone be sweet to him, and prays to be transformed into one spirit with God through the fire of divine love.
- Of Fervent Love and Vehement Desire of Receiving Christ
The Disciple offers all affection and fervor of heart, desiring to give infinite praise and unbounded benediction to God.
