How can I love God more than my child, because this is the right thing? Well, I offer God the love that I share with my child, my husband or brothers, I bring it in front of God, I give it to Him, Loving them together with God. There is no incompatibility between the love of your brothers and the love of God! On the contrary, Saint John says in one of his epistles that “If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?” (1 John 4:20). In other words, here we find the palpable proof of how much we love God – by loving our brothers! But mind that this love for our brothers (children, parents, husband or wife) does not reach the level of idolatry! What does idolatry mean? To put the ones whom you love above everything, above God. God should always be on the first place.

Here I would like to give you an example of a case from the ecclesiastical history - St. Timothy and Mavra. It’s about two young people who loved each other very much and got married. They were Christians in a time where Christianity was forbidden and since he had an important function in the city, for which he was envied, he was accused for being a Christian. He was judged and condemned to martyrdom. Because this didn’t frighten him and didn’t make him deny Jesus, they called for his wife to make him deny his faith in order to live longer next to her.

But his wife came and she encouraged him in his love of Jesus and she admitted she was a Christian too, which enraged the executioners. She was also condemned and they were both crucified one in front of the other. They kept their love but didn’t deny Jesus.

Of course that it was very difficult! Only some heroes, people with the heart of a martyr can reach this stage, and obviously God gave them this, because He knew that in their big loving heart (for God and each other) they could reach it.

Therefore, this is how you can complete the love for your husband, wife, and child by perfecting it through the love of God.

(Translation from: Preot Dr. Vasile Gavrilă, Duhovnicul de la miezul nopții, Editura Fundației „Tradiția Românească”, București, 2011, pp. 210-212)