AC 6071 - The Good From God; AC 6073 - The Goods of Charity Are Uses

AC 6071 [3] - The Good From God

. . . nothing but good comes from God,
for in so far as a person suffers it,
God bends evil into good.


AC 6073 - The Goods of Charity Are Uses

All the goods which are called goods of charity
are nothing but uses,
and uses are nothing but works
for the neighbor,
for our country,
for the church,
for the Lord's kingdom.
Moreover regarded in itself
charity itself does not become charity
until it comes into act and becomes work.
For to love anyone,
and not do him good when we have the power,
is not to love him;
but to do him good when we have the power,
and to do it from our hearts,
this is to love him;
and then all things of charity toward him
are contained within the very deed or work;
for a person's works
are the complex of all things of his charity and faith,
and are what are called spiritual goods,
and indeed become goods by exercise,
that is, by means of uses.