The Universalist. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1884-1897, 1886-08-14

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feet love of man to God and man is re-
quired. The first implies consecra-
ton to do the will of God, resignation to
suffer, and loving trust that all is well,
and all will be well. Our Lord teaches,
that the first and great command
ment is supreme love to God and the
second, which is like the first, is to love
thy neighbor as thyself, and it is asked,
"If man love not his brother, whom
he hath seen, how can he love God
whom he hath not seen ?'' If we have
perfect love to man, it is an evidence
of perfect love to God. For we cannot
have that conservation to do, resigna-
ton to suffer, and loving trust that all
is well, unless we have that perfect,
living love to man. From the living
God, the influence of his love contin-
ually flows to man, the object of his
love. Immersed in external and sensu-
al things, we are often insensible of
that influence, and of the Importance of
CO operating with the same. Yet reason
and revelation teach the Importance
thereof.
Let us then consider how we may
by cooperation attain to perfect love
to man. This does not imply that we
should love anything that is bad. But
it regards our fellow man as having
capability that is good, and it desires
that he may receive good and happi-
ness. Not that he may be happy in
evil, but that he may be saved from
evil; may have the highest happiness
his nature will admit of, and be saved
from suffering by being saved from
sin. Consider love as the essential life
of God, and the proper life of man,
with certain attributes, which are men,
toned in / Cor, 18th chapter. The ex-
cellence of the description of what is
predicated Of love, has been acknowl-
edged often, and deserves to be kept
before us: Love is patient, kind, not
anxious, does not brag, is not pulled
up, does not conduct unbecomingly,
does not seek honors, is not provoked,
does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but
does rejoice with the truth, covers all
things, believes all things, hopes all
things, endures all things, and never
fails" When mention is made of broth
erly or neighborly love, some have said,
such one has not loved a brother, has
not done a brothers part, such a one
has not been a neighbor, but like the
unfeeling priest, or Levite, has passed
by on the other side. But let us re-
member that the gospel advocates in
the teaching that God is good to all,
that he is kind to the unthankful and
the evil. We should consider what the
divine character is, that our charac
tiers may be conformed to our divine
Fathers. We should then not excuse
ourselves in selishness; saying, in an
unloving, unforgiving spirit, that some
persons are unkind and unloving, and
so we are not to love them.
If we consider what is so plainly
taught of the divine character, all self
ish excuses are cut off. 1t seems to be
natural and easy to love our friends :;
to be kind to them who are kind to us;
to wish for the prosperity of those that
seek our prosperity. But to love our
enemies, those that do not love us; to
do good to them that hate us; to even
pray for blessings on them that curse
US, and despitefully use us and perse-
cute uS,-this is not for the unregen-
crate selfishness of man to do. Yet
this is plainly taught we are to do !;
that we may be like our Father in
heaven. The divine love is so perfect,
so unbounded, that it embraces not
only the saints and angels, but those of
an opposite character. Not that God
loves evn, and that we are to love evil,
but in the evil and even malicious of our
race there is capability of good and
happiness and we must pray and la
Dor, that they may be saved from their
evils, and brought to the possession of
the good and happiness that heaven
designs for them. If we believe that,
in the certain future, good will be tri-
umphant over evil, those now enemies
will become friends. The enmity de-
stroyed, the wickedness gone,-what is
obeying the gospel directions, but antic-
ipating little of that certain future of
love, and heaven that is before us? We
need not profess to be saints, but in
believing in the final triumph of good
over evil, we should keep perfect love
in view.
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