--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: So the best marriages and the deepest…" description: "\"So the best marriages and the deepest relationships with God grow out of the startling discovery that there is nothing one can do to earn love, and eve..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/419/mike-mason-27587_age_so-the-best-marriages-and-the-deepest-re_2737636.png" --- # So the best marriages and the deepest relationships with… ![“So the best marriages and the deepest relationships with God grow out of the startling discovery that there is nothing one can do to earn love, and even more startling, that there is also nothing one can do to unlearn it, or to keep oneself from being loved. This is a religious awakening that is…” quote by Mike Mason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/419/mike-mason-27587_age_so-the-best-marriages-and-the-deepest-re_2737636.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/419/mike-mason-27587_age_so-the-best-marriages-and-the-deepest-re_2737636.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/419/mike-mason-27587_age_so-the-best-marriages-and-the-deepest-re_2737636.png) > “So the best marriages and the deepest relationships with God grow out of the startling discovery that there is nothing one can do to earn love, and even more startling, that there is also nothing one can do to unlearn it, or to keep oneself from being loved. This is a religious awakening that is utterly different from any other religious experience, no matter how profoundly spiritual it may seem.” [Mike Mason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-mason/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Love is unconditional; it cannot be earned, lost, or unlearned, leading to a profound spiritual awakening. **In simple terms:** Love is given freely, not earned. Key Takeaway Accept love without trying to earn or lose it. Themes spirituality relationships faith Mood reflective inspirational Type philosophical spiritual When to use this quote - personal relationships - spiritual practice - community building Key Concepts unconditional love religious experience awakening Questions to Reflect On - How does unconditional love affect personal boundaries? - Can you experience love without expectations? A Different Perspective May ignore the need for mutual respect and boundaries. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Age](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/age/) [Awakening](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/awakening/) [Being loved](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/being-loved/) [Deepest Relationships](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deepest-relationships-3003831/) [Different](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/different/) [Discovery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discovery/) [Grows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grows/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Marriage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/marriage/) [Marriages Deepest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/marriages-deepest-3003830/) [Matter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/matter/) [May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/may/) [Oneself](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/oneself/) [Profoundly Spiritual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/profoundly-spiritual-3003832/) [Relationship with god](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/relationship-with-god/) [Relationships God](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/relationships-god-575339/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Religious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religious/) [Religious Awakening](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religious-awakening-751330/) [Religious experience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religious-experience/) [Spiritual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spiritual/) [Unlearn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unlearn/) ## Related quotes > [Of course the case of the Christian Church planted among the nations must differ, in various ways, from that of any sect forming in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-rainy/of-course-the-case-of-the-christian-church-planted-among-the-nations/) [Robert Rainy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-rainy/) > [A religious awakening which does not awaken the sleeper to love has roused him in vain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessamyn-west/a-religious-awakening-which-does-not-awaken-the-sleeper-to-love-has/) [Jessamyn West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessamyn-west/) > [We've created a theology in the West of a God who is fundamentally self-centered. The imagery of God as distant, unapproachable, unreachable -- that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-p-young/we-ve-created-a-theology-in-the-west-of-a-god-who-is-fundamentally/) [William P. Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-p-young/) > [Christopher McCandless:"I will miss you too, but you are wrong if you think that the joy of life comes principally from the joy of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shunryu-suzuki/christopher-mccandless-i-will-miss-you-too-but-you-are-wrong-if-you/) [Shunryu Suzuki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shunryu-suzuki/) > [...the measure of life is revealed in the quality of our relationships: with God, our families, our fellow men." - A Perfect Day by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-paul-evans/the-measure-of-life-is-revealed-in-the-quality-of-our-relationships/) [Richard Paul Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-paul-evans/) > [“But you're wrong if you think that the joy of life comes principally from human relationships. God's placed it all around us. It's in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/into-the-wild/but-you-re-wrong-if-you-think-that-the-joy-of-life-comes-principally/) [Into The Wild](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/into-the-wild/) > [Relationships can be about yourself, they can be about you and your god, you and your people, you and your family. It can be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-hansard/relationships-can-be-about-yourself-they-can-be-about-you-and-your/) [Glen Hansard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-hansard/) > [Spirituality on the other hand, is a chosen path of developing intimate relationships with God. It's chosen, it's nurtured, and it's optional.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-myss/spirituality-on-the-other-hand-is-a-chosen-path-of-developing/) [Caroline Myss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-myss/) > [Some relationships are God's gift and Some relationships are human's Both need to just be honest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mak-786/some-relationships-are-god-s-gift-and-some-relationships-are-human-s/) [Mak\_786](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mak-786/) > [The bottom line is we are trying to do what's right. We don't just say we believe in God - we have active relationships…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jase-robertson/the-bottom-line-is-we-are-trying-to-do-what-s-right-we-don-t-just-say/) [Jase Robertson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jase-robertson/) > [“Alex here. (...) Ron, I really enjoy all the help you have given me and the times we spent together. I hope that you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-krakauer/alex-here-ron-i-really-enjoy-all-the-help-you-have-given-me-and-the/) [Jon Krakauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-krakauer/) > [“We have been trying to apply machine-age methods to our relationships with God.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-w-tozer/we-have-been-trying-to-apply-machine-age-methods-to-our-relationships/) [A.W. Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-w-tozer/) > [“It’s never easy letting go. But if we don’t learn the art of relinquishment, we’ll never move forward to embrace the new relationships God…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-e-demuth/it-s-never-easy-letting-go-but-if-we-don-t-learn-the-art-of/) [Mary E. DeMuth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-e-demuth/) > [“A repentant spirit is part of belonging to God but it always happens after God makes the first move towards us. This is God’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brenda-seefeldt-amodea/a-repentant-spirit-is-part-of-belonging-to-god-but-it-always-happens/) [Brenda Seefeldt Amodea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brenda-seefeldt-amodea/) > [You are wrong if you think Joy emanates only or principally from human relationships. God has placed it all around us. It is in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-krakauer/you-are-wrong-if-you-think-joy-emanates-only-or-principally-from/) [Jon Krakauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-krakauer/) ## More by Mike Mason > [Take away material prosperity; take away emotional highs; take away miracles and healing; take away fellowship with other believers; take away church; take away…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-mason/take-away-material-prosperity-take-away-emotional-highs-take-away/) [Mike Mason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-mason/) > [How tragic that the very thing that could set us free-playing the fool-is the thing we will not do. When we're afraid to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-mason/how-tragic-that-the-very-thing-that-could-set-us-free-playing-the/) [Mike Mason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-mason/) > [“And so must learn to love with our mouths and voices, as well as with our eyes, flesh, heart, brains, and with everything we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-mason/and-so-must-learn-to-love-with-our-mouths-and-voices-as-well-as-with/) [Mike Mason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-mason/) > [To keep a vow, means not to keep from breaking it, but rather to devote the rest of one's life to discovering what the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-mason/to-keep-a-vow-means-not-to-keep-from-breaking-it-but-rather-to-devote/) [Mike Mason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-mason/) > [And as Dad said to me, 'You can't always stop people from being mean. But you can stop them from making you mean.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-mason/and-as-dad-said-to-me-you-can-t-always-stop-people-from-being-mean/) [Mike Mason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-mason/) > [Pure suffering has a consciousness, a tongue, a heart all its own and even the memory of it is but a pale unreality when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-mason/pure-suffering-has-a-consciousness-a-tongue-a-heart-all-its-own-and/) [Mike Mason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-mason/) > [The very fact that faith looks to a power beyond itself means that it is continually subject to loss of control. So if you're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-mason/the-very-fact-that-faith-looks-to-a-power-beyond-itself-means-that-it/) [Mike Mason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-mason/) > [“What is such a believer, whose very life depends upon the daily bread of the living Word of God, supposed to do when God…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-mason/what-is-such-a-believer-whose-very-life-depends-upon-the-daily-bread/) [Mike Mason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-mason/) > [“Theology, it turns out, is Satan's favorite game.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-mason/theology-it-turns-out-is-satan-s-favorite-game/) [Mike Mason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-mason/) > [We like to talk about having the faith to be healed - what about the faith to be sick?.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-mason/we-like-to-talk-about-having-the-faith-to-be-healed-what-about-the/) [Mike Mason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-mason/) > [“As long as the self is consumed in the struggle to make itself lovely, it cannot love. First it must come to the end…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-mason/as-long-as-the-self-is-consumed-in-the-struggle-to-make-itself-lovely/) [Mike Mason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-mason/) > [It is easier to diminish God than it is to enlarge one's heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-mason/it-is-easier-to-diminish-god-than-it-is-to-enlarge-one-s-heart/) [Mike Mason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-mason/) > [True worship has less to do with offering sacrifices than with being a sacrifice ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-mason/true-worship-has-less-to-do-with-offering-sacrifices-than-with-being/) [Mike Mason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-mason/) > [Real love is always fated. It has been arranged before time. It is the most meticulously prepared of coincidences. And fate, of course, is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-mason/real-love-is-always-fated-it-has-been-arranged-before-time-it-is-the-2/) [Mike Mason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-mason/) > [It is something that is just there, and it is huge, and everything has been built around it, and wherever one happens to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-mason/it-is-something-that-is-just-there-and-it-is-huge-and-everything-has/) [Mike Mason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-mason/) [Explore all 20 Mike Mason quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-mason/) ## More Age quotes > [I need a bath." He chuckled. "You smell of smoke, as do I." The duke turned, leaning heavily on his cane. "Jameson, open the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-hawkins/i-need-a-bath-he-chuckled-you-smell-of-smoke-as-do-i-the-duke-turned/) [Karen Hawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-hawkins/) > [While we've youth in our hearts, we can never grow old.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/while-we-ve-youth-in-our-hearts-we-can-never-grow-old/) [Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/) > [It's easier to change a law than an age-old mentality. Deep down, many prejudices, many hostilities, many fears persist. But if we take a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dacia-maraini/it-s-easier-to-change-a-law-than-an-age-old-mentality-deep-down-many/) [Dacia Maraini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dacia-maraini/) > [When I first started writing, when I was 15, I would go to work with people and they would tell me my lyrics were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sabrina-claudio/when-i-first-started-writing-when-i-was-15-i-would-go-to-work-with/) [Sabrina Claudio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sabrina-claudio/) > [Real people speak in my books about the main events of the age, such as the war, the Chernobyl disaster, and the downfall of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/svetlana-alexievich/real-people-speak-in-my-books-about-the-main-events-of-the-age-such/) [Svetlana Alexievich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/svetlana-alexievich/) > [As a child I was very involved with sports and I knew at age 9 that I wanted to be an Olympic champion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marion-jones/as-a-child-i-was-very-involved-with-sports-and-i-knew-at-age-9-that-i/) [Marion Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marion-jones/) > [If there is any period one would desire to be born in, is it not the age of Revolution; when the old and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/if-there-is-any-period-one-would-desire-to-be-born-in-is-it-not-the/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [By making conscious choices in our behavior and where we focus our attention, we can transform our experience of our body, decrease our biological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/by-making-conscious-choices-in-our-behavior-and-where-we-focus-our/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [I am just enjoying the dream of being Milan coach at the age of 40.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gennaro-gattuso/i-am-just-enjoying-the-dream-of-being-milan-coach-at-the-age-of-40/) [Gennaro Gattuso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gennaro-gattuso/) > [Age is an accumulation of life and loss. Adulthood is a series of lines crossed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-goodman/age-is-an-accumulation-of-life-and-loss-adulthood-is-a-series-of/) [Ellen Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-goodman/) > [I calculated that if I live up to the age of 80, then I end up using 450 toothbrushes in my life. All that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dia-mirza/i-calculated-that-if-i-live-up-to-the-age-of-80-then-i-end-up-using/) [Dia Mirza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dia-mirza/) > [Why is wisdom so fair? Why is beauty so wise? Because all else is temporary, while beauty and wisdom are the only real and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vera-nazarian/why-is-wisdom-so-fair-why-is-beauty-so-wise-because-all-else-is/) [Vera Nazarian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vera-nazarian/) > [It was only when I went to acting school that I was like, "You are absolutely such a pigheaded freak show that you thought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giles-matthey/it-was-only-when-i-went-to-acting-school-that-i-was-like-you-are/) [Giles Matthey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giles-matthey/) > [That old man dies prematurely whose memory records no benefits conferred. They only have lived long who have lived virtuously.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-brinsley-sheridan/that-old-man-dies-prematurely-whose-memory-records-no-benefits/) [Richard Brinsley Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-brinsley-sheridan/) > [We have started to make music at age seven. That was a hard work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-kaulitz/we-have-started-to-make-music-at-age-seven-that-was-a-hard-work/) [Bill Kaulitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-kaulitz/) [Browse all 18,948 Age quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/age/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "So the best marriages and the deepest relationships with God grow out of the startling discovery that there is nothing one can do to earn love, and even more startling, that there is also nothing one can do to unlearn it, or to keep oneself from being loved. This is a religious awakening that is utterly different from any other religious experience, no matter how profoundly spiritual it may seem.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Mike Mason" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-mason/so-the-best-marriages-and-the-deepest-relationships-with-god-grow-out/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Age" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-mason/so-the-best-marriages-and-the-deepest-relationships-with-god-grow-out/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/419/mike-mason-27587_age_so-the-best-marriages-and-the-deepest-re_2737636.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/419/mike-mason-27587_age_so-the-best-marriages-and-the-deepest-re_2737636.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/419/mike-mason-27587_age_so-the-best-marriages-and-the-deepest-re_2737636.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“So the best marriages and the deepest relationships with God grow out of the startling discovery that there…” — Mike Mason", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Mike Mason", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-mason/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "So the best marriages and the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-mason/so-the-best-marriages-and-the-deepest-relationships-with-god-grow-out/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-mason/so-the-best-marriages-and-the-deepest-relationships-with-god-grow-out/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```