Love

John says, “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God.” No language can express this love; we can describe but a faint degree of love that passeth knowledge. It would require the language of the Infinite to express the love that has made it possible for us to be called the sons of God. In becoming a Christian, a man does not step down. There is no shame in having connection with the living God.

Jesus bore the humiliation and shame and reproach that justly belonged to the sinner. He was the Majesty of heaven, He was the King of glory, He was equal with the Father; and yet He clothed His divinity with humanity, that humanity might touch humanity, that divinity might lay hold of divinity. Had He come as an angel, He could not have been a partaker with us of our sufferings, could not have been tempted in all points like as we are, He could not have sympathized with our sorrows; but He came in the garb of our humanity, that as our substitute and surety, He might overcome the prince of darkness in our behalf, and make us victors through His merits.

[As we stand] under the shadow of the cross of Calvary, the inspiration of His love fills our hearts. When I look upon Him whom my sins have pierced, the inspiration from on high comes upon me; and this inspiration may come upon each one of you through the Holy Spirit. Unless you receive the Holy Spirit, you cannot have the love of God in the soul; but through a living connection with Christ, we are inspired with love and zeal and earnestness.

We are not as a block of marble, which may reflect the light of the sun, but cannot be imbued with life. We are capable of responding to the bright beams of the Sun of righteousness; for as Christ illuminates our souls, He gives light and life. We drink in the love of Christ as the branch draws nourishment from the vine. If we are grafted into Christ, if fiber by fiber we have been united with the living Vine, we shall give evidence of this fact by bearing rich clusters of fruit.—The Review and Herald, September 27, 1892.
Ye Shall Receive Power p. 71
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Prayer Requests
—-Please pray for E and her children. R
—-Please pray for the family of Kevin L who passed away this week. K
—–Prayer request for a baby who has cancer the parents are on the way to _____ for treatment. also for a woman who has stage 4 breast cancer her name is MS L. thank you. M
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Dear Friends,
One evening before I retired, I stopped at the store to buy a few needed items for the weekend. After I paid for the items, the clerk asked if I wanted someone to take the groceries out to my car. Since this store is more expensive than the one where I normally shop, I decided to take advantage of their service. As the tall, blonde, bag girl came up to me, she asked if I wanted to push the cart or if I wanted her too. I let her have the cart and walked to my car a lot faster than I normally would just to show her I didn’t need a cart to lean on.

It might seem strange that I reacted that way, but it reminded me of an incident that had happened a few years ago. On my way home from work that time, I stopped at another store at which I rarely shopped and which is now out of business. They were having a triple coupon sale on all coupons under fifty cents in value and I couldn’t resist. I had quite a few coupons within that category, so I thought of all the money I would save.

After paying for the few items I had bought, the girl who bagged my groceries asked if I would like to have her take them out to the car for me. Being tired from working all day, I said “Yes.” Then she looked at me and said in a pitying tone, “Would you like to lean on the grocery cart while we go out to your car?” Shock and disbelief must have been written all over my face. I told her, “I may be getting older, but I’m not feeble yet!”

Then I went over to my regular store to buy the rest of my groceries. At the checkout, the cashier asked if I would like someone to take out my purchases. I said, “As long as they don’t call me feeble!” I explained. We, along with the ladies in line behind me, had a good laugh over it.

When the bag boy came, the laughing clerk told him not to call me old and feeble. Now it was his turn to look surprised. This brought another round of laughter. On the way out to the car, I explained what had happened across the street. He, too, thought that it was very funny.

While driving home, as I was thinking about that incident, I remembered my misconceptions when I was about the same age as that girl who thought that I was so old that I needed the cart to lean on. (Now I am old and I do need to lean on the cart.) To my young mind, anyone over forty was ancient. Unfortunately I hadn’t kept my thoughts to myself and unwittingly offended my mother and my in-laws (and who knows who else).

How easy it is to judge someone else. How many times we think the worst of the people around us. Jesus tells us, “Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye.” Matt 7:1-5 Paul agrees, “thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest: for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself; for thou that judgest doest the same things.” Rom 2:1 How true that was in my case!

There are some, however, who use these verses beyond their intentions. Whenever someone has a valid concern regarding their words or actions, they call that friend “judgemental” and sometimes even quote this Scripture to them. Are we never to judge someone’s actions? The Great Judge clears up this question. “Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment.” John 7:24 His guide for knowing a false from a true prophet also guides us in judging righteously. “Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.” Matt 7:16-20

“Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted. Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.” Gal 6:1 How careful we must be when doing so, however. How we approach the one at fault is vital to their spiritual recovery.

May God give us wisdom in our dealing with others. May our “speech be alway with grace, seasoned with salt.” Col 4:6 May we receive the spiritual eyesalve we need to recognize our own defects and come humbly to the cross for the forgiveness we so much need. Only then are we able to bring others into restoration.

Rose