| The Christian Life | March 1940 |
God is Love
“God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.”—I John 4:16
LOVE, like light, is best understood when viewed from the standpoint of what it accomplishes. We also appreciate light by contrasting it with darkness; even so love is appreciated when contrasted with its opposite principle, which is selfishness. To be told simply that God is love would not convey to our minds any clear conception of His glorious character. It is because the Bible explains the things which His love has done, is doing, and will continue to do, that we get the best understanding of what the apostle means in our text when he says that God is love.
Understanding this great principle of love from the vantage point of seeing what it accomplishes, we are then able to appreciate in a small way what is implied in the suggestion of the apostle that those who dwell in love also dwell in God. Obviously it could have no other meaning than that the Christian who endeavors to emulate God, to copy Him in His benefaction to His creatures, is thus dwelling in the same spirit of love, seeking to order his life along lines of unselfishness. Viewed thus, it becomes apparent that there is no other way of living in harmony with God, performing His will, than that of dwelling in love. No wonder the Apostle Paul in I Corinthians 13, makes it clear that love is the principal thing; for surely apart from dwelling in love it is impossible for a Christian to dwell in God; that is, to live in harmony with Him.
This is a heart-searching test of discipleship; for the love of God which is to become the moving power in our lives is more than a benevolent feeling, or a negative attitude of good will toward our fellow man. It includes these qualities to be sure, but goes much beyond that, in that it is a principle which impels to self-sacrifice. Thus we are told that God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him might not perish but have everlasting life.—John 3:16
Here is true God-like love in operation, and we see that it is love which caused our Heavenly Father to give—to give that which really cost Him something, to give the dearest treasure of His heart, in order that others might be blessed. In view of this wondrous example of the operation of divine love, it is apparent that the Christian can have no assurance that he is walking in love, unless he finds his heart willingly responsive to the demands of this principle, so that he is glad to sacrifice self-interest, pleasure, comfort, time, strength, means, yea, all that he has, in order that others may be the benefactors of his life of giving.
God was under no obligation to rescue mankind. Our first parents were justly sentenced to death, and through them the whole world came under just condemnation because of sin. There would have been no injustice on God’s part had He done nothing about fallen man. But divine love could not let the sinner go. It was love that first contrived the way to save rebellious man. In order for love to accomplish man’s rescue from death, it was necessary that the Heavenly Father make a sacrifice, that is, give up that which properly belonged to Him, that thus the estranged race might redeemed and restored to life. Thus seen, love goes beyond justice. Love sets aside one’s own rights for the blessing of others. Love, as thus demonstrated in God’s character, is the true example of what we should endeavor to be and do in order to be like God.
“IF WE LOVE ONE ANOTHER, GOD DWELLETH IN US, AND HIS LOVE IS PERFECTED IN US.”—I JOHN 4:12
These words of the apostle carry us a step further in our understanding of the manner in which divine love operates in the Christian life; that is, they place the matter upon the very practical basis of loving one another. It would be easy enough to say that we love God, but if our attitude toward those whom He loves is one in which there is a lack of love, our actions belie our words. In John 4:20, the apostle adds, “If a man say, I love God, and hate his brother, he is a liar; for he that loveth not his brother, whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?”
Let us then scrutinize our hearts very carefully in order that we may make sure that while professing a love for God, we may not actually be walking in love at all, but following rather after the way of Satan and of selfishness, in that his spirit is dominating our lives instead of the spirit of love. From this standpoint, reality stares us in the face, a reality from which we cannot escape. All our vows and professions to the Lord should be considered as binding as though they were made to someone in the flesh. Yet, because we do not see God, because He does not literally talk to us, and reason with us—except through His Word—it may be easy at times to sidestep our professions to Him. But when, as in the matter of the exercise of divine love, He makes it plain that He measures the degree of our love for Him by the manner in which we manifest this quality toward others, then it does bring the matter down to a practical, workable basis.
Nor are we permitted to make the excuse that our fallen flesh would often like to make; namely, that we should not love our brethren because they are so imperfect, so out of harmony with what we consider to be right that they are not worthy of our love. To take an attitude of this kind indicates that we have not yet comprehended the full significance of what true divine love really consists of. Had God’s love been of no better quality than this, there would have been few to receive of its benefits; because from His standpoint of perfection and righteousness, all the children of Adam have sinned and come short, hence are wholly unworthy of His love.
He loved us, the Scriptures tell us, while we were yet sinners, alienated from Him, enemies, through wicked works. A similar love on our part therefore will impel us to love our brethren even though they may seem to be taking a course that is contrary to our conception of what is right. The exercise of this true, God-like love toward our brethren will cause us to cover up their imperfections rather than to do anything to reveal them to others. We will realize how fallen they are, but at the same time will remember that we, too, are fallen; and that no doubt, in their eyes, we come as far short of the perfect standard as we consider that they have come short. This does not mean that we should love their sins, their imperfections, but it does mean that we should love our brethren in spite of their imperfections; and that we will do all in our power to help them and to bless them—to build them up in the most holy faith, and by precepts and by example to lead them to a better way.
We will not do this in the sense of assuming a superior attitude toward our brethren, giving them the impression that we are glad that we are so much better than they are, because, this would put us in a position where it would be impossible to help. When we maintain the proper appreciation of our own imperfections and shortcomings, it should not be difficult for us to refrain from assuming a superior attitude toward others. If we would but keep in mind how many ways the Lord could properly find fault with us, but doesn’t, it will help us to realize that it is quite out of keeping with His love, for us to continually find fault with our brethren.
We, like our brethren are only blessed by the Lord because of His great love for us, a love that was manifested while we were still alienated from Him, and which continues to cover the sins which alienated us. Keeping this proper divine perspective before us, it should not be difficult to love our brethren, to deal with them as we desire that God shall deal with us—as we know, indeed, that He does look upon and deal with us.
If it were not that God blesses us in spite of our imperfection, how quickly we would lose His favor, how soon indeed our lives would become a barren wilderness, void of every evidence of the sunshine of His love and care over us. Surely then, the least we can do to demonstrate our love for God is to love, and do all in our power to bless, our brethren, whom He also loves. As for God Himself, there is nothing we can do that will enrich Him, nothing that we can withhold from Him that will make Him poor. But, thanks be to His loving and wise arrangement, He does accept our love for the brethren as a manifestation of our love for Himself. Thus, if we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and we can rejoice in the continuance of His favor and blessing.
“LOVE YOUR ENEMIES, BLESS THEM THAT CURSE YOU, DO GOOD TO THEM THAT HATE YOU, AND PRAY FOR THEM WHICH DESPITEFULLY USE AND PERSECUTE YOU.”—MATTHEW 5:44
Here is another test of divine love; that is, loving our enemies. This, in a sense, is much akin to our love for the brethren, because the things which stand in the way of our loving the brethren are the things in their lives which tend to make us feel that they are, in certain respects at least, our enemies. Enemies, who are outside of the fold of God, those whose eyes of understanding are blinded by the god of this world, and who because of this assume an attitude of opposition toward the Lord’s people, are more easily loved than those among the brethren whom we mistakenly consider to be our enemies. Let us always remember that our brethren are not our enemies, but as long as there is any evidence that God is dealing and blessing our brethren, it means that He is loving them, and helping them to win a position in the Kingdom. This being true, our only course is to do all in our power also to help them and bless them, thus loving them as God loves them.
Our love for our real enemies, those who are also God’s enemies, is manifested in a different way. True, it is a love that will cause us to do all in our power to bless them. It is a love which will cause us to show mercy toward them. It is a love which will induce us to pray for them, thus seeking the divine blessing upon them, in addition to the things that we may do to cause them joy and happiness. But in loving our enemies thus, it will not be with the same degree of sympathetic interest, of attachment and affection, that should permeate our love for the brethren.
True love for our real enemies will mean that when by divine grace they are enlightened by the truth of God’s Word, and because of this, manifest a desire to make amends for their wrongdoing, we will rejoice. It is a love which will quickly dismiss every thought of vengeance or of exacting payment for the wrongs they have committed; and will cause us gladly to welcome them into our fellowship and to do all in our power to assist them to a better understanding of the Lord, that thus they may be brought daily closer and closer to Him. If we have prayed for our enemies, because we have loved them, surely such a love will rejoice when God answers our prayers.
“HE THAT IS SLOW TO ANGER IS BETTER THAN THE MIGHTY; AND HE THAT RULETH HIS SPIRIT THAN HE THAT TAKETH A CITY.”—PROV. 16:32
The matter of ruling our own spirits is very closely associated with the operation of divine love in our hearts. Our spirits as a rule are very selfish, self-centered, unkind, impatient; in fact almost everything that is out of harmony with the true spirit of God, the spirit of love. This means that our spirits need to be “ruled,” to be controlled, to be ordered by a governing force that is superior and better than that which belongs to us as members of the fallen race.
With the Christian, the spirit of God should become, yea, must become, the governing principle in_ their lives, otherwise, it cannot be said that their spirits are being ruled or controlled, within the meaning of this text. This is the thought implied in Romans 12:2, where it explains that there needs to be a renewing of our minds, a transformation, in which the selfish spirit of the faller: flesh and of the world is put under, and the spirit of the Lord takes its place. This, the apostle explains, is in substance the doing of the Father’s will. It is just another way of saying that to the extent the spirit of God, which is the spirit of love, is ruling in our hearts, to that extent we are walking in harmony with God.
But such a transforming of our minds is not accomplished in a day or a week or a year, but is; the work of a lifetime. The old selfish spirit will continue to clamor for its rights, to insist on its viewpoints being considered. This means that at times we will find ourselves thinking and acting quite out of harmony with the new mind, the mind of Christ, that should be dominating our lives,
But we should not be discouraged. At each failure to manifest the mind of Christ in our dealings with our brethren, our enemies, and all mankind, we should seek the throne of grace for divine forgiveness, and ask God for a greater in-filling of His spirit of love, that thus the worldly spirit of selfishness, which is also the spirit of the. fallen flesh, will be brought under control, “ruled” in such a way as not to be permitted to turn aside from the course of true love that daily covers up the imperfections of others—both of our brethren as well as of those who are not our brethren—and endeavors, in the spirit of Christ and by divine help, to serve and bless all as opportunity affords, especially the household of faith.