Knowing that we should love our enemies is not the ultimate thing – actually loving our enemies is. Knowing that we should be patient is not all – we are to practice the lesson of patience until it has become a habit in our life. Knowing that we should always submit our will to God’s is to have a clear mental conception of our duty in this regard; but this is not religion. There are many who know well this cardinal duty of Christian life who yet continue to chafe whenever they cannot have their own way, and who struggle and resist and refuse to submit to the divine will whenever it appears to be opposed to their own will. They know their lesson, but they have not learned to live it. It is living it, however, that is religion.
This reading was taken from Strength and Beauty
Chapter 12 : The True Religion