Mar 12:29 And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our7 God is one Lord:
Mar 12:30 And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.
Mar 12:31 And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.
IN nothing, my friends, in absolutely nothing, has God acted more worthy of His own wondrous nature, than in designing love as the soul and essence of all faith and belief in Him; with Himself the supreme object of that love. In doing so, He has as much considered the happiness of the creature as His own honor; as much our benefit as His glory. For this ability to love God with the abandonment required, can only come from God, as a gift of God. As a matter of fact; IT IS God, comming to dwell within the man. Indeed, it is the source of all spiritual comforts and power; for, as I have said before, within His love is contained all of His gifts, all of His abundance, and all of His promises. The great truth here, my friends, is that when you possess His love, the greatest of His gifts, and it blossoms within your soul; you possess all of Him, and He will always be whatever you need, in that moment of need. He who loves God, walks with God, and dwells with God; has never far to travel in order to find God. He need only look within upon the chambers of his own soul, and there, in finding God’s love, he finds God; for as it says in the Word, “God is love; and he that dwells in love dwells in God, and God in him.”
It is, then, the great characteristic of all believers, that they love God; and their embraces all of God, from the lowest point of creation to the heights of the Godhead. They love the Father—for to Him they are indebted for His unspeakable gift. They love the Son—to whom they owe their redemption. They love the Spirit—for having renewed and dwelt within them, as the Temple of the Living God. Such are the children of God: all who witness to the blessedness they feel in loving God; and the happiness that springs from this divine, heavenly emotion, expanding, purifying, and ennobling the soul. It is true, their love to God, is at best but an imperfect emotion, mingling with a thousand frailties, yet they love Him sincerely; He has drawn their hearts, has overcome them by His grace, and they are empowered to say, along with the Psalmist, “Whom have I in heaven but Thee, Oh Lord? and there is none upon earth in whom I desire but You.”
This deathlessness of our love for God, and His love for us is, perhaps, the most beautiful idea of all Scripture. Every other grace will cease but that of love.Our Faith; which works by love—that precious grace which has been the anchor of our soul in the storms of life; and our compass to bring us safetly home, amid all the trials, needs, and perils of the way — when we reach the world of glory we shall need it no more, for faith will then give way to sight. Hope!—that pole-star of the soul, and the eyes of our love,which cheered us with its luster, through many a weary step in our desperate journey –— when we reach the world of glory we shall want it no more, for hope will terminate in full fruition: “for then we shall see Him as He is, for we shall be like Him!” But Love, my friends, love will live forever! As it says in His Word: “Whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away.” But “Love never fails,” Love, lives forever.
Formed according to His pleasure,
In keeping with the Holy plan,
To enjoy the transcendent minglings
Of kindred personalities; as a Father with His sons.
To know Him; to live with Him;
To draw life and truth from Him.
Yet ….. we would not.
Forsaking Love, prescience,and comformance,
We fled; and we hasted swiftly away
At the Voice of His Thunder.
Yet who can flee from the Living God?
What place is so deep
That He is not deeper still?
What place of darkness
Where His Glory does not shine?
Evicted; banished from His Face,
The blissful center of our creation,
Our right and proper dwelling,
Whose affection we kept not,
Begetting only turmoil and ageless restlessness.
Even so, the Infinite bonds of His love
Are not so easily shattered and cast assunder.
Through Infinite Wisdom and Sublime Charity,
A Way would be opened to us:
A reconciliation ……. a path of return,
To communion and the presence of the Living One.
The Golden Lampstand; yea even the Lord
Was given ……. a Blood sacrifice
Upon the brazen altar of Eternity,
Opening a Way into the High Place toward all who believe.
For God, who is rich in mercy,
And for the great love
With which He loved us,
Delivered acceptance unto us
In one Body; by the cross;
Having slain the emnity thereby;
And having made peace through Blood;
To reconcile all things unto Himself;
Whether they be in Earth or in Heaven.
As He is both the Author and Finisher of our faith.
1Co 13:1 If I make use of the tongues of men and of angels, and have not love, I am like sounding brass, or a loud-tongued bell.
1Co 13:2 And if I have a prophet’s power, and have knowledge of all secret things; and if I have all faith, by which mountains may be moved from their place, but have not love, I am nothing.
1Co 13:3 And if I give all my goods to the poor, and if I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it is of no profit to me.
1Co 13:4 Love is never tired of waiting; love is kind; love has no envy; love has no high opinion of itself, love has no pride;
1Co 13:5 Love’s ways are ever fair, it takes no thought for itself; it is not quickly made angry, it takes no account of evil;
1Co 13:6 It takes no pleasure in wrongdoing, but has joy in what is true;
1Co 13:7 Love has the power of undergoing all things, having faith in all things, hoping all things.
1Co 13:8 Though the prophet’s word may come to an end, tongues come to nothing, and knowledge have no more value, love has no end.
1Co 13:13 But now we still have faith, hope, love, these three; and the greatest of these is love.
No comments:
Post a Comment