Since we are thinking about God’s love this month, I thought it would be nice to add some random things to help. Some of these came to mind while I was preparing to write last week’s article, but I didn’t want to make that one too long.
1 John 4:10 Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
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No Greater Love – This page was something that I put together some years ago for “The Quiet Place” – a project of my dad’s.
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See, from His head, His hands, His feet,
Sorrow and love flow mingled down;
Did e'er such love and sorrow meet,
Or thorns compose so rich a crown?
- Isaac Watts
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The Love of Christ – A poem by Annie Johnson Flint
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His wrath the seven vials hold,
The seven trumps His judgments sound;
But what can span the love of God,
And what His goodness bound?
The seven woes shall have an end,
The seven plagues His hand shall stay:
But when shall His compassions fail,
His kindness pass away?
- Annie Johnson Flint
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There is a Love that longs with deep affection
To gather all the sin-sick sons of men,
Beneath its wings of shelter and protection,
And give them health again.
It is the love of Jesus, sweet with longing,
His full salvation to the world to give;
Crying to all the dead, earth's highways thronging,
"Come unto Me, come unto Me and live."
- Annie Johnson Flint
2 Timothy 1:7 For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.
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Could we with ink the ocean fill,
And were the skies of parchment made,
Were every stalk on earth a quill,
And every man a scribe by trade;
To write the love of God above
Would drain the ocean dry;
Nor could the scroll contain the whole,
Though stretched from sky to sky.
Oh, love of God, how rich and pure!
How measureless and strong!
It shall forevermore endure—
The saints’ and angels’ song.
Frederick M. Lehman
2 Thessalonians 3:5 And the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God, and into the patient waiting for Christ.
The subject of the Love of God is boundless... That verse, 2 Tim 1:7, is one of my all-time favourites. Fear is the opposite of love (perfect love casts out fear!!), and as humans we are so prone to fear; that verse is so perfect to remind us that we have God's love and power and when we don't fear, then we also have a sound mind. Thank you for these reminders of God's love - so important to meditate on His love.
ReplyDeleteI don't know if I noticed it before ever or not, but recently it really struck me that the opposite of love is fear. I have come to realize that people in certain legalistic belief bubbles do not know what the love of God is. One lady who escaped from one of these groups wrote that she came to realize that she thought God's love meant punishment - that He only chastened those He loves - as in love = chastisement. She had no concept of the peace, freedom and unconditional nature of God's love for His blood-bought child. It was very enlightening to read that. I realized that one reason that one never feels truly loved in some groups is because they don't understand nor know how to accept the love of God themselves, so of course they can't shed it abroad to others. They literally don't know how to love because they don't have love. And, naturally, because of that they will be fearful in many ways. That was a light bulb moment for me.
DeleteDearest Mary, what a beautiful and precious post! I am continually amazed by God's never-ending love that He so graciously pours upon us. Thank you for sharing this wonderful post with Roses of Inspiration. Have a lovely week! Hugs!
ReplyDeleteWell, praise the Lord that you were blessed. I'm glad. You're welcome as well. :-)
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