Love of the Gods

For years, I’ve been telling people that the Gods love them deeply, love us deeply, and I very much believe that’s true. I think the Gods do cherish us each and want the best for us, that They as our creators have a vested interest in our welfare. I know we can have deeply rewarding, personal, devotional relationships with Them. They love us. They love us but…it’s not like human love. It took me until tonight to really grasp that. Years of having the Gods tear my world apart, having Them bring blessings and pain in equal measure and the cognitive disconnect of knowing that They love us to the core of our beings, but still carrying deep in my heart what is often pure anguish in service to Them and I finally understand it, at least a little bit more. Their love is not like human love and that is an awesome and terrible thing.

Human love presupposes – at least insofar as I understand it – that one cares not just for the wellbeing and welfare of one’s beloved, but for their feelings too. There is an individual intimacy, a give and take on a small level that nourishes that love and allows it to grow and thrive. It’s often about the minutiae of caring for each other’s human hearts.

That isn’t how it works with Gods. Even the minutiae of the devotional relationship are not small things. We love as humans love and the Gods love as They love and They are not human. They care for us deeply but They don’t just see us now, They don’t just see us separate from our wyrd and Their agendas and obligations and in the grand scheme of things – and with Gods it’s always the grand scheme of things – it’s that overarching agenda that takes precedence. Some things need to happen, some things need to get done and if that hurts us, while they number our tears and while They care (and I think when They can will do what They can to mitigate the pain), those things still need to happen. There is a deep cruelty in Their love, but it is not purposeful, but rather it is a byproduct of Their nature and the obligations, the vast obligations that They hold.

In the “Iliad,” it is woven into fate that Zeus must allow his most beloved son Sarpedon to die. He is anguished over this and tries everything He can to convince Himself that He can stop it. In truth, He has the power to stop it. He could absolutely protect Sarpedon and guarantee him glory and honor. There’s a catch though, (and I think it’s Athena Who points this out): if Zeus does this, He will have violated the order that He himself established, the cosmic order of the Gods and all creation. If He, the architect of that order were to do so, it would come crashing down and there would be chaos and any other Being would likewise be free to violate it at will. It would be devastating on a level far beyond the death of one beloved child. Zeus makes the decision to allow Sarpedon to meet his fate, to die, even though it causes Him agony. Necessary order is maintained and the dissolution of the worlds prevented. Had He just been a father, He could have done whatever was necessary to protect His son; but He wasn’t. He was also a God, Lord of Olympus and that carries with it weight and obligation that cannot be put down no matter the personal cost.

It is a thing to remember when loving the Gods (and I very much believe it is right and proper to love Them): They do not love as we love. They love like the storm, like fire, like the raging flood and we are small in comparison and can so easily be swept away, and even more easily we can be hurt if we expect Their love to be contained like that of humans.

I hate Them sometimes, for all They take, and all They ask, but I love Them too and I just have to make sure that it’s the latter emotion I nourish, not the former. The Gods can take and excuse our moments (looong moments sometimes) of pique but making it a lifestyle choice is something that can close us off from Their blessings forever. They love us, but They are Gods and sometimes the weight of what They are, and the necessities make for complications.