Forget About Reckless Zeal

“Let’s understand, my friends, that true perfection means loving God and loving our neighbor. The more perfectly we keep these two commandments, the closer to perfection we will come. All spiritual rules are nothing but means toward the end of spiritual love. Forget about reckless zeal. It can do harm. Let each one of us look to her self.” Teresa of Avila, The Interior Castle (1577)

This past week Brad and I had a chance to go back to Overland Park, Kansas, where we lived and worked from 1982-1989. Being back on our old stomping grounds meant that we were able to spend time with many old friends, and I am amazed all over again by the power of love and what a difference it makes in our lives.

One of my Overland Park neighbors, Sandy Isham, is studying prayer at her church, and we connected over Prayer: Finding the Heart’s True Home by Richard Foster, a book both of us have used to strengthen our prayer life and increase our understanding of this great mystery called the spiritual journey. Another friend, Cathy Dykman-Cunard, who was part of my church family in Overland Park, is grieving the death of her dear husband, Paul, who died last year of renal cancer. After caring for Paul in his last days, she says she is no longer afraid of death and she knows in a very real way that nothing can separate us from God’s love. Being with Cathy again was a special blessing, and it reminds me how important it is that we hold our soul friends close in prayer no matter how far we roam.

Throughout The Interior Castle, Teresa stresses the necessity of sharing love with others. She writes, “Let’s understand, my friends, that true perfection means loving God and loving our neighbor. The more perfectly we keep these two commandments, the closer to perfection we will come. All spiritual rules are nothing but means toward the end of spiritual love. Forget about reckless zeal. It can do harm. Let each one of us look to her self.” What God requires of us is not reckless zeal; instead, we are asked to walk humbly and focus on love.

Being in Kansas among my longtime friends helped me remember the gift of love—a gift God shares abundantly every single day—and I am so grateful for its grace and peace that is showered upon us by our friends and neighbors. May all the love we experience be returned a hundredfold in every direction possible!