Voices from the Past: Meditations on the Person and Work of Christ
Bernard of Clairvaux was born in Dijon from noble stock and owed much to his godly mother, Aletta, for his devotion and piety. It is this devotion to Christ for which he is best known through his hymns “Jesus the Very Thought of Thee” and “Jesus Thou Joy of Loving Hearts.” Viewed as a mystic by many, he was not afraid of theological debate; he engaged and defeated Peter Abelard who was promoting the Moral Theory of the atonement. He was practical and humble, characteristics that attracted ecclesiastical leaders to come to him for advice. He died in Clairvaux in 1153.
Reading “We love him, because he first loved us.” 1 John 4:19
For I know that my God is not merely the bounteous Bestower of my life, the generous Provider for all my needs, the pitiful Consoler of all my sorrows, the wise Guide of my course: but that He is far more than all that. He saves me with an abundant deliverance: He is my eternal Preserver, the portion of my inheritance, my glory. Even so it is written, “With Him is plenteous redemption” (Ps. 130:7); and again, “He entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us” (Heb. 9:12).
Of His salvation it is written, “He forsaketh not His that be godly; but they are preserved for ever” (Ps. 37:28); and of His bounty, “Good measure, pressed down and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom” (Luke 6:38); and in another place, “Eye hath not seen nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, those things which God hath prepared for them that love Him” (1 Cor. 2:9).
He will glorify us, even as the apostle bears witness, saying, “We look for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall change our vile body that it may be fashioned like unto His glorious body” (Phil. 3:20f); and again, “I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us” (Rom. 8:18); and once more, “Our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen” (2 Cor. 4:17f).
From Bernard of Clairvaux: On Loving God
