Article May 9, 2016 Issue

The Principle that is Love

Stephen Carlson

I was thinking recently about two of my high-school teachers. Both were businesslike, even a bit stern, on the first day of class and for a few days after that. They were setting a serious tone, letting us know what they expected of us—laying down the law, so to speak. It wasn’t something that fifteen-year-olds took as a good sign of things to come!

In both instances, though, it turned out that they were not only excellent teachers but delightful individuals. One had a wonderful sense of humor that was increasingly on display as classes went forward. The other was thoroughly engaging in his discussion of the books we were assigned to read and was easy to get along with. Although I didn’t think of it in these terms at the time, both expressed a natural blend of qualities that pointed to God’s nature as Love and Lawgiver.

Leaning on God’s law of good, which maintains the harmony of every aspect of His creation, brought about a perfect solution.