Evening star., 1913-02-22

children and animals are supposed TO
have intuitive knowledge Of character.
Hence, when we seek the sources of
philanthropy, or look for the secret of
the power to forgive; when we come to
the motive that prompts the charities. the
courtesies, the sacriflcial services of men,
we find that motive to be love.
Five illuminating texts are given us.
The first Of these is that summing up
of 1.-The law of the kingdom in which
the Master gives love as 1.-The fulfilling Of
the law first toward God and then
toward our neighbor.
The second text calls upon us to love
our enemies. The third, to love one an
other. The fourth gives love as the anti
dote to malice and i'll feeling. and the
last gives love as the great illuminant.
through which we are enabled to see
things in their true proportion and avoid
the scandal" of an unlovely Christianity.
From these thought-prOvoking texts
three thoughts arise.
1. LOvE-THE LAW OF GODS KING
DOM.
Back of every act and purpose that
springs from God is love. 1t is the law
of His kingdom and the handspring of
conduct with those who strive to do HIS
will. He will not tolerate that which is
unlovely anywhere In all his realm The
lichens clothe the rugged rock; while
moss and vine blend in the beauty of
their attempt to hide the broken branch
or muddy ooze. But IL this be true in
His natural realm, 1t is doubly so in the
spiritual kingdom. Here love must be
supreme, sitting upon the throne of the
heart 1t rules and guides each impulse
and action SO that it not only gives us
the desire to do Gods will, but also FUR
nishes us with that gentle spirit which
makes our effort pleasing to Him ana
acceptable to men.
Perhaps the reason why there are SO
few out-and-out anarchists in religious
things is because men feel 1ntu1tfVely
that no matter how bitter may nave
been their experiences or how hard their
lot God still rules the world in love and,
by the same token, the great mass OF hu-
manity is kind and good to large de-
gree, because they feel In their hearts
that the law of Gods kingdom is the
law of love.
uLOVEITHE CURE OF MANS ILLS.
AS we come to consider love as the
social motive We must bear in mind the
fact that while in matters Of faith the
relationship is between man and his Coo,
in matters of practice it is between man
and his feliow-man. 1t is at this point
that love becomes so potent factor III
the cure of human ills.
Expediency may lead the state. and
even the individual. to care for the
wretched and outcast, but the cure OF
such conditions is always a work or love.
Expediency and Self-prOtectlon may wash
the unclean, may cloth the naked, may
minister to the SICK but love sings
song of hope and purity and power over
evil through Gods love and grace. that
makes the filthy to long for cleanliness
the naked to desire to be clothed; while
nothing in all the universe of God so
makes our illness bearable as love.
AS work is the great economic panacea.
SO love is the cure-all for a troubled
world AS men come more and more to
realize this they are applying, in a spirit
of God-given fraternity. ''the law that
works by love- to the many veX1ng prob
lens Of our complex social life, and 1t
may be truthfully said that only thus
are these ills to be cured and these prob
lens solved.
III. LOvE-THE LIGHT OF LIFE S
HIGHWAY.
That is a wonderful statement in our
last reference, He that loveth his
brother abideth in the light, and there
is no occasion of stumbling in him." The
history of mans progress is full of the
mighty truth that love has built the
lighthouses. trimmed the beacons and lit
the watch fires that have warned or well
coined the StOrm-tossed mariners or deS-
ert wanderers of every age.
AS the sin-ruined race mounts slowly
UP the hills of holiness. it is by the light
that streams from the cross OF Jesus
Christ. That light is love. He loved His
erring brethren, Gods sons and daugh-
ters who had gone astray through sin.
Love sent Him on His soul-Quest from
the courts of heaven. and only as we love
our brethren, He has loved us, shall
we be able to reflect the light that dwelt
in Him and now abides in us, who love
His name.