THE KING’ S BUSINESS
431
There are three expressions o f love for G od: Subjection of the will to" the will of God; surrender of the life to the life of G od; service of heart and soul in the cause o f God. You can simplify the statement of moral duty into one living principle, and that principle into one word— love. Love is the nature o f God, and therefore men must be born again to be enabled to love God. How will a love for God find expres sion? What is its sphere?, I f we say we love God and hate our brother, how dwelleth the love o f God in our hearts? The command “Love thy neighbor as thy self” gives us the sphere. That is, if we love God, that love will be manifested, not in words, but in deeds. W e prove that we love God by bestowing that love upon peo ple. W e translate the Gospel o f the love o f God into the dialect o f the common peo ple. Christ showed the lack o f love in the Pharisees and Scribes in His messages about “taking chief places;” the “elder brother;” the “unjust judge;” “ devouring widows’ houses;” the “ rich young man;” and He illustrated love for God in His message about the widow with her two tT\ HERE seems to be three divisions to -I- this lesson, viz., loving God, loving your neighbor, and giving o f one’s means to God. Love to God. —It is told o f Princess Alice that at one time her little boy was sick with diphtheria and the doctors forbade her breathing the child’s breath. . But one day she laid her hand on the feverish brow o f the little fellow and he looked up and said, “ Kiss me, mother.” Her mother love could not resist though it cost her, her life. Such should be our love for God. Airmen tell us that in building an aeroplane, the builders are careful to place the center o f gravity, whether ver tical or horizontal, in the same place. Then
mites—her all— for her neighbor. He crit icizes the one and He commends the other. There are three things by which this love is weighed— motive, manner, measure. St. •Bernard said, “I have two mites, my body and my soul.” We have two, and we can give them with glad hearts to our neigh bor and the needy world. PRACTICAL POINTS (1) Love for God should be intuitive— from the heart. (2) Love for God should be impulsive— from the soul. (3) Love for God should be intelligent— from the mind. (4) Love for God should be intense—with all our strength. (5) There is a common root to both com mandments—love. (6) The object o f our devotion must be the divine Son o f God. (7) W e may reverence God and not love Him ; we may respect our neighbor without showing any kindness to him. (8) There is a Scriptural answer to every spiritual question. (9) Give your mite, with all your might. no matter which way they dip, it will right itself quickly. What an illustration o f the Christian who has all parts o f his life centered in God’s love.' Years ago, in the north o f Europe, an old man asked that he might work upon a magnificent cathedral which was being built. The mas ter workman was afraid that he would mar the beauty o f this grand work, so gave him a dark place in the shadows to work. Here only for a brief space does the sun shine every day, when it is clear, and on these days people come by hundreds to see a beautiful face painted there. The master workman found the old man dead one day with his face upturned toward the beau tiful face. Artists, sculptors and work-
PERTINENT ILLUSTRATIONS
By W . H. Pike.
Made with FlippingBook - Online Brochure Maker