St. Nikon of Optina on acquiring love through forgiveness

The post presents a saying of St. Nikon of Optina on Christian love. He teaches that one must love every person by seeing the image of God in them. To acquire love, a person must reject every evil and troubled thought, and even more so evil deeds and words, and must forgive all offenses, whether justified or not.

The accompanying image shows a brief dialogue: Lana tells Kristina that people cannot see her with their eyes but she is a good person, and that she trips her up wherever she can. Kristina replies by asking forgiveness and saying she knows only love and peace, and that whatever is not love and peace is not from the Lord.