"It is a vain thing to say we love Christ if we slight His commands. Does that child love his father who refused to obey him? If we love God, we shall obey Him in things difficult and things dangerous.

Forgiving our enemies is hard. We are apt to forget kindnesses and remember injuries, but if we love God, we shall leave behind offences. When we seriously consider how many affronts and provocations He has put up with at our hands, this makes us copy Him and endeavor to bury an injury than retaliate it.

Love made Christ suffer for us. Love was the chain that fastened Him to the cross. If we love God, we shall be willing to suffer for Him. Love is the most suffering grace. It will suffer reproaches, bonds, and imprisonments for Christ's sake. Love will carry men out above their own strength. How did divine affection carry the early saints above the love of life and the fear of death? These divine heroes were willing to suffer rather than by their cowardice to make the name of God suffer. They refused to come out of prison on sinful terms.

-Thomas Watson, A Divine Cordial