,332
T H E K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S
September, 1940
Constrained by the Love of Christ By GEORGE W . GIBB Shanghai, China
“For the love of Christ constraineth as; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead” (2 Cor. 5:14). H ERE lies the secret of*faithful at it from two standpoints: First, what life does this love constrain? And in. the second place, how does the con straining love of Christ operate upon the soul? ./The Life Constrained by Love First of all, then, what life does the love of Christ constrain? It does not constrain the life of the natural man. The man who would be constrained by the love, of Christ must have passed through the experience of being bom again, of having been translated from the kingdom of darkness into the king dom of God’s dear Son. But I go far ther than that and I say that those who. would enjoy the constraining lqye of Jesus Christ in their hearts must be those who live in the spirit of Christ. It is very possible for the child of God to live a life in the flesh. Such a life the love of Christ cannot constrain. And if you or I are living that life, we are, as it were, falling back to our for mer ways of living; and to ask for the love’1 of Christ to be the rule, the strength, and the guide of my life, if I live thus, is to ask it in vain. No, the child of God must rise above that which is earthly; he must take his place with Christ in the heavenlies. And then, and only then, with his affection cen tered in Christ who is seated at the right hand of God, can he claifn this love as the constraining power of his life,, as the guide and as the rule of his being. The love of Christ! It is not giy love to Him—what a poor thing that is when compared with His love! It is His love, [ This article is a condensation of stenographic notes covering a message by the General Director of the China In land Mission. The address was deliv ered in the Church of the Open Door, Los Angeles, during a visit of M r. Gibb to America. M r. Gibb would be grate ful for the prayers of K ing ’ s B usiness readers as he meets the very heavy re sponsibilities of his task amid the chang ing conditions in China. — E ditor .]
broad and shallow and sluggish. And ' often, as I have traveled upon that river, I have wished that some engineers would gather up the waters and would bring them within banks. Then what would happen ? The river would run moire quickly. It. would have certain direction. Now let me compare with that river the activity, tne powers, of my renewed nature. What the banks are to the river, "the love of Christ is to my spiritual life, the power of my renewed nature. What do the banks do? They give definite direction. The love of Jesus Christ comes into my soul, and it turns me away from the world, from self, away to God, so that with the psalmist of old I can say: “My heart is fixed.” My eternal choice is made: Christ for me. Away from sin, from self, from the world, affections .centered upon Christ— that is what the constraining love of Christ means to my soul today. Ah, but not only that, the banks give to that river concentrated power as well. The river formerly moved all over the plain, but now the banks, as it were, bring it together and give it depth, yes, and concentrated power. And that is just exactly what you and I need. What we need is full hearts, full of the love of Jesus Christ, having a great objec tive to win men and women for Christ. Oh, for the constraining power, for the concentrated power of Jesus Christ our Lord', when He said: “My meat is to do the will of him that sent me,” or of Paul when he said, “This one thing I do, forgetting, those things which are behind, I press toiVard the mark for the prize of the high calling^f God in Christ Jesus,” and ‘.’that I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death.” 1That is what the constraining love of Jesus Christ can do for me. It can give me that concentration, that power, that quickened'life of my blessed Lord. Intensity o f Zeal Again, this love gives depth also. The river formerly, before it was brought in by its banks, was a shallow river. It has intensity now. And the love of Jesus Christ does just that for you and for me. It gives that earnestness, that burning zeal, that enthusiasm, which we need in our work—not that zeal, that fervor, that has its origin in flesh ly energy; we have enough and to spare of that, a perfect hindrance to the work [ Continued on Page 356]
LOVE IN ACTION • When the English Government sought to reward General Charles George Gor don for his brilliant services in China, he declined all money or titles, but fi nally accepted a gold medal inscribed with the record of his thirty-three en gagements. It was his most prized pos session. But after his death the medal could not be found. Eventually, it was learned that he had sent it to Manches ter during a severe famine^/ directing that it should be melted dovm and used to buy bread for the poor. Under the date of its sending, these words were found written in his diary: “The last and only thing I had in this world that I valued I have given over to the Lord Jesus Christ.” —From “Christ Life and the Word of the Cross.” This love of Christ is first of all a manifested love, and we have it in such a verse as this: “In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him.” Or let us think of that love as an in dwelling principle, as indwelling the soul: “The love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given ■unto us.” Oh, that word “shed abroad” ! It is a large term. In the original it means a plenitude of love, a fullness of love “shed abroad” in my heart, infilling the whole being. It is the fulfillment of Christ’s prayer when He asked “that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them.” That, and only that, is the constraining love on which we are meditating, the love of Christ Jesus our Lord. How the Love o f Christ Operates In the second place, how does this love operate? It constrains. In the original Greek, this word “constrain eth” means limiting, compressing. The thought is of a love that compresses, a love that limits, a love that narrows down. We all think of love as an en larging power, as an' expanding power, as a liberating force. But it is the very opposite meaning that obtains here. Let me illustrate from my experience in China. It was my privilege to travel for about twenty years up and down a rather broad river. That river . was His divine love, acting upon my soul in power; it is the love of Christ.
service—the constraining love of Jesus Christ our Lord. Let us as we meditate on this subject look
Made with FlippingBook - Online Brochure Maker