The Home Missionary
October 1, 1897
The Law of Love
[Reading for last Sabbath in October.]
In all things Christ was made like unto his brethren, that in his human nature he might give to man a perfect example. He alone could bridge the gulf that sin had made. In him, humanity touched humanity, while divinity laid hold upon divinity, that man might become Christlike, a partaker of the divine nature, escaping the corruption that is in the world through lust. HM October 1, 1897, par. 1
Through Christ, God has made every provision that fallen humanity may be restored, and reflect the image of the divine. But we cannot become Christlike if we continue to plan, to work, to live for ourselves, to use all our entrusted capabilities for our own gratification. Our lives were not given to us for this purpose. Jesus did not follow this plan. He did not live to please himself, and he desires us to learn of him. In order to do this, we need to keep away, as far as possible, from the excitement and bustle of the world, close our eyes and ears to things seen, and contemplate, far more than we do, unseen, eternal realities. As we daily conform our lives to his perfect example, we shall, like him, bear precious fruit in good works. HM October 1, 1897, par. 2
“He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them,” said Jesus, “he it is that loveth me.” This is the genuine test of love, spoken by lips that never falsified. Only in doing the will of God can we give to the world a living testimony of the love we bear him. Love is of God, and he who loves him, will manifest that love by obedience to all his commandments. He will keep the first four, which reveal man's duty to love God supremely; he will keep the last six, which require him to love those for whom Christ has died. HM October 1, 1897, par. 3
In answer to the lawyer's question, “Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” Christ said, “What is written in the law? how readest thou?” The man replied, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbor as thyself.” Jesus said to him, “Thou hast answered right: this do [not believe only], and thou shalt live.” HM October 1, 1897, par. 4
But the lawyer, willing to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor? And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side. But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him, and went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him. And on the morrow when he departed, he took out twopence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee. Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbor unto him that fell among the thieves? And he said, He that shewed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise.” HM October 1, 1897, par. 5
Thus this question was forever settled in regard to every seeker after truth. God works; but man must co-operate with him in the great plan of salvation. The condition of eternal life is not merely to believe, but to do the words of God. The men, who, from their office work, we might have expected to represent Christ in sympathy and love for those who needed help, “passed by on the other side.” They little knew that the universe of heaven was looking upon them, watching their works, reading the intents and purposes of their hearts, and weighing their characters in the scales of the heavenly sanctuary. They little knew that this same scene will be reproduced before them, in the light in which God regards it, in the day of Judgment, when every man shall be judged according to his works. HM October 1, 1897, par. 6
The work of the good Samaritan represents Christ's mission to the world. Our Saviour came to reveal the character of God, to represent his love for man. He acted just as the Father would have done in all emergencies. Christ manifested for us a love that the love of man can never equal. He died to save those who were his enemies; he prayed for his murderers. When we were bruised and dying, he had pity upon us. He did not pass us by on the other side, and leave us, helpless, and hopeless, to perish. He did not remain in his holy, happy home, where he was honored by all the heavenly host, who loved to do his bidding. He beheld our sore need; he undertook our case, and identified his interests with humanity. He became “a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief .... He was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.” HM October 1, 1897, par. 7
How sad is the contrast between the life of Christ and that of many who profess to be his followers. Many who are handling sacred things are not keeping the commandments of God. They say, and do not; they have ceased to be vessels unto honor in the Master's service. They are unkind, and selfish, and hard of heart. But God's law plainly reveals to us the duty of man to his fellow man. All who neglect their fellow creatures—the very least of those whom Christ calls his brethren—are recorded in the books of heaven as “weighed in the balances” and “found wanting.” In disregarding his special commandment, “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself;” in passing by the suffering, the needy, and the wounded, they have left the side of Christ, their example, and taken the side of the enemy of God. In neglecting to clothe the naked, to feed the hungry, to visit those who are in prison, they show what spirit they are of. It would not be safe for such characters to enter heaven; for by their selfishness and hard-heartedness, by their failure to appreciate their brethren here, they plainly reveal the fact that they could not appreciate God, his Son, or the saints in the kingdom of heaven. HM October 1, 1897, par. 8
The law of God is a perfect standard of character. It shows to every man the excellence which he must possess in order to be saved. God has held up before us this great detector, that all may see whom he will commend, and whom he will condemn. HM October 1, 1897, par. 9
The law revealed to Paul his defects of character; but he did not seek to abolish the law because he stood condemned before it. He said, “I was alive without the law once: but when the commandment came [home to his conscience], sin [in his character] revived, and I died.... Wherefore the law [that worked so sharply against the natural propensities] is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good.” To his quickened conscience, sin became exceedingly sinful. This is the work of the law and the Holy Spirit, that convict of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment. HM October 1, 1897, par. 10
Christ has declared, “If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love.” God's character is expressed in his law; and he who keeps that law, must walk even as Christ walked, revealing in his life the excellence of its principles, which are holy, just, and good. But with a large number of church members, very little attention is given to God's great standard of righteousness. They are not doers of the words of Jesus. They neither love God supremely, nor their neighbor as themselves. There is very little Christlike sympathy and compassion, forbearance, and love, woven into their life experience. These are, in truth, commandment breakers, and thus they stand registered in the books of heaven. HM October 1, 1897, par. 11
Christ is not honored by those who are satisfied with a religion that does not reach forth to relieve the suffering and oppressed, that does not seek to save the souls whom he has purchased with his own life. He cannot bestow upon them the fulness of his grace; for they are not prepared for it; they are not cleansed from moral defilement, and could not make a right use of his grace, according to his purpose. But when the church shall see and acknowledge her sins, and come to God, seeking forgiveness through Jesus the sin-pardoning Saviour, sanctification of the Spirit will come to souls now barren and destitute of the love of God. HM October 1, 1897, par. 12
Probation still lingers. Will not the church improve her last hours in arousing from her deathlike slumber to a sense of the peril of the souls around her? Many of God's purchased inheritance are in danger through her neglect of duty. Many are waiting for light and knowledge that should come to them through the individual members of a wide-awake church, whose light should be shining to the world in clear, steady rays. Then will not God's people awake, and consider what is comprehended in obedience to his law? Its obligations are summed up in the words of Christ, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbor as thyself.” HM October 1, 1897, par. 13
Mrs. E. G. White