Why must our God be Love? (William Arkle)

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From Equations of Being by William Arkle

What I wish to do is to become very bold and suggest that we put ourselves in the position of this Creative Source, the God of what we love, and begin to see things from the position we would be in if we were about to design the plans for this scheme of manifestation of which our worlds are a part. This means that we must feel for the godlike image we have in our consciousness and clarify it to the extent that we can begin to understand at least something of the attitude that would be brought to bear on this creative endeavour.

Our Source will have many attributes which we can agree about. Our love for the ideals which we carry in our nature in common will know that such a Creator will have to be, first of all, love itself.

We know that we would resist any other Being however many qualities of power, knowledge and talent He had. 

We know, therefore, that what we refer to as love, in its most profound sense, is also a simple but unmistakable beginning we require and respond to.

When we reach a certain stage of growth within our spirit we know this to a degree that we would never argue about it. It is the simple but profound basis to our understanding which is the only one that can remain in harmony with our good sense. And yet there are many things to be drawn out of this love knowledge which as yet we are still hazy about.

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The italicized passage is very striking to me - a sudden clarification.

We might be intimidated into accepting a God of ultimate power, knowledge or talent.

We might also be brow-beaten into accepting that we must accept a God of logical necessity (i.e. the God of the Philosophers).

But we would only willingly, and with heart-felt joy, embrace as our God one who loved us personally and wholly - only such a God could be trusted absolutely.

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We do not have to accept even a God who loved us personally and wholly - after all, here on mortal earth some humans reject and spurn their parents or spouses or friends who love them more fully and faithfully than anybody else does.

To accept and return the love of another is always a choice, must be a choice, and our God of love would not be satisfied with anything less than our choice to return His love.

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