In heaven, to love the Lord does not mean to love Him as to his person, but to love the good which is from Him; and to love good, is to will and do good from love. And to love the neighbor does not mean to love a fellow-being as to his person, but to love the truth which is from the Word; and to love truth is to will and do it.
I have conversed with the angels on this subject a number of times, and they have expressed astonishment that the men of the church do not know that to love the Lord and the neighbor is to love good and truth, and to do them from the heart; when yet they might know that every one manifests his love for another by willing and doing what the other desires; and that he is loved in return, and conjunction with him is effected in this way, and not by loving him and constantly disregarding his will, which in reality is not to love him; and that they might also know that the good proceeding from the Lord is his likeness, because He is in it; and that those become likenesses of Him, and are conjoined to Him, who make good and truth [constituents] of their life by willing and doing them. To will also is to love to do. This the Lord also teaches in the Word, where He says, "He that hath My commandments and doeth them, he it is that loveth Me;—and I will love him, and make My abode with him." John xiv. 21-23. And again: "If ye keep My commandments, ye shall abide in My love." John xv. 10.
That the Divine proceeding from the Lord which
