"All things of earth are fleeting and transitory; but the soul is immortal; how then can it find peace in these? All of these are of the earth earthy, but our souls are of heavenly origin, how then could these satisify its holy desires?
In Christ alone it finds the peace it seeks (Matt 11:29); He only can satisfy and fully meet its immortal desires. Against the holy wrath of God, it quietly rests in the wounds of Christ the Savior; against the accusations of Satan in the almighty power of Christ; against the terrors of the law in the gospel of Christ; against her accusing sins in the precious blood of Christ, that speaketh better things in the presence of God than the blood of Abel (Heb 12:24); against the fear of death it reposes in joyful confidence in the intercession of Christ at the right hand of the Father above.
And so faith finds rest in Christ; but our love also finds there its most blessed repose. If we set our hearts upon earthly things, we shall not have this true peace, because these earthly things themselves do not have it, nor can they possibly satisfy the longings of the soul, because they are finite, whilst our souls, made in the image of God, ardently long for that Infinite Good, in whom all good things are.
As then our faith ought to rely upon nothing in all the world but the merit of Christ alone, so also our love should be set upon no earthly object, not even upon ourselves. The love of self hinders the love of God, and we ought to prefer that love to all things else. Our soul is the bride of Christ (2 Cor 11:2); it ought then to cling to Him alone. Our soul is the temple of God (1 Cor 3:16), and hence it ought to be the dwelling-place of God alone."
-Johann Gerhard
From Sacred Meditiations
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