THE K I N G ’ S BUS I NE S S PRACTICAL POINTS (1) God is love, light and life. (2) God’s greatest gift to the world was the gift of His Son. (3) Love is of God because God is love. (4) Love is communicated through life. (5) Love proves its power by its per fection. (6) Hatred in the heart is evidenced by the lack of love. (7) Perfected love is faultless, and is therefore fearless. (8) Love for God is evidenced by our love for others. , “ A panacea is a cure-all. A specific is a sure cure. In medicine there is no panacea, and quinine is about the only specific. In morals there is only one panacea and only LESSON one specific, name- ILLUSTRATIONS ly, Love. In gov- W. H. Pike ernment there are a thousand alleged panaceas and specifics— initiative and referendum, single tax, universal suf frage, short ballot, free trade, arbitra tion and so on ad infinitum; but there is only one real panacea and specific, namely love.” And this love is the love o f ' God manifested through Jesus Christ. Love Changes the Whole Life. In England they have discovered a process for improving wood. ? They soak it in a solution of beet sugar, and then dry it in an oven. The wood be comes tougher, more durable, heavier, stronger, more ornamental when planed and polished. The treatment fills the pores and renders it more sanitary. Wood treated thus resists dry rot. Poi son may be added to the sugar solution and the wood made proof against de structive insects. Love is the great moral beet-sugar solution for the soul. m Subject Illustration—Love.
292 we give. If “ God so loved the world” then so must we love the brethren, and this is clearly stated in 1 John 3:13-18. (3) THE MEDIUM OF COMMUNICA TION. Love is a principle of life, as we have already seen. Love is also a proof of life (v. 13) “ Hereby know we that we dwell in Him and He in us, because He hath given to us of His Spirit.” It is a proof to ourselves and to the world. If we love God, we will love our brother. (v. 20.) Love is the principle of the new life; hate is a principle of the old life. Love is also the pattern of life. This is manifested in the life of Christ. Love is sacrificial because it yields itself. Love’s question is “What shall I give?” Not “What shall I get?” Self love is manifested in a selfish life. God love is manifested in an unselfish life. The essence of the love gift is sacrifice. Mary’s gift of the spikenard is an il lustration. Love is also the practice of life (3:18). We have the same life and the same love, not in the same fulness as God, but the same in character. The dewdrop cannot contain the sun, but it can catch a ray of sunlight. So the old life leads to murder; the new life to martyrs. The nature of love is sacrifice. The measure of love is “ so” (John 3:16). The aim of love is to bless. The end of love is reached when it reproduces itself in us. Children should have the characteristics of the father. God loved and manifested it. We love and mani fest it. We have no way of showing our love to God but through manifesta tion of it to our fellow men. We must manifest it to those we see (v. 20). Love is manifested in our relation to ward God (v. 19); toward each other (vs. 7 - l i ) ; and toward the world (vs. 14, 15). •
Made with FlippingBook - Online magazine maker