WHY WOULD GOD BECOME CALLOUS TOWARD HIS LOVERS?

 
On Sunday, July 22 [1956], he gave a short discourse on giving, which included a statement I found very thought-provoking. He said, "When the Omniscient bestows the real gift of love, He manifests His complete forgetfulness of it by apparently becoming callous toward his lovers."

Callous? Why would God become callous toward his lovers? The idea puzzled me for some time, until I thought again of the analogy of our being little black pots. It seemed to me that Baba stirs those pots, empties them, cleans them, and then fills them once again with more love, up to the brim and overflowing. He gives us as much as we can hold, but if he gave us more, we would explode like balloons. So once he has given his gift, he moves on. In those periods, it must feel as if he has abandoned us.

Time passes. We live life and, hopefully, give love and service to others, which increases our capacity to hold more love. Then Baba draws us back to him and fills us up again. We must do the work to open the space for him. This happens as we endure hardships and experience love, pain, sorrow, and joy. When we respond to those experiences according to our highest knowing, we make room for God to pour yet more love into our hearts.