‘Love is the basic design plan for the universe. God’s love is the source of all that is. Because God is love, and human beings are made in God’s image, love is who we are. Love is not first and foremost something we do. It is who we are. Love is the essence of being human.’

‘To live is to let love well up and stream through us as the pulse of our lives, con-necting us to ourselves, our neighbours, the whole family of earth’s creatures, and God, the alpha and omega of love. To love is to be seeking, fostering and sustaining connections with that which is different and other – without domination, absorption or fusion – in delight, in care, in compassion.’

James Olthuis The Beautiful Risk Grand Rapids Zondervan 2001