The Alaska citizen., 1915-09-27
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LOVE THE GREATEST

LOVE THE GREATEST.
 The greatest of these is love. ] Cor 1918.
 It is commonly supposed that the greatest thine in the religious world is faith. But if We go to the depths of Christianity, depths that lead us to its source, We will find tha, faith is not rhe greatest thing in the world Faith has it's proper place However it's place is not first. Paul says: If have all faith, so that I can remove mountains, and have not love I am nothing" This places love above faith. and makes it the greatest thing in the world. '"
 Ii is strange, is ii not. that the man who wrote the chapter on love from which the text is taken waa man whose hands were stain ed with blood? He had tried to keep the law by keeping the letter of the law. But he learned in later life to know that love is the ful- filling of the law" and so strong was the apostles faith and expert enee on this point that he was con strained to make the statement himself What does it mean? In the days of Paul men were finding their way 10 Heaven by strictly keeping the ten commandments, and the hundred and one other command ments that man had supplemented to them. Christ says: 'I will show you a more simple way to keep them. l will tell you but one thing, and if you will do that one thing you will be fulfilling the law The man who loves. unconeriousIy keers all the commandments of God. This is patent to the observer, Take the first commandment: Thou shalt have no other gods before me-" When a man loves God he does not need To be urged to keep this commandment: Take not his name in vain What man would think of taking the name of God in vain if he loved Him? Remember the Sabbath to keep it Holy" All desc cration of che holy day that God has set aside for mans good would be a thing of the past if men lover God. Love here is with certainty the fulfilling of the law. Then take the law of man to man A child would never need the injunc- tion served upon him that he should honor his father and mother" And the after years would be a pleasure to him in keeping his parents from every harm and want To tell man who loved not to steal would be an insult to his nature To the man who loves no need be there of reminding him that "he shall not commit adultery" Love here would work wonders with mankind and s-lve all the difficult problems of immortality. To the man who loves telling him not to covet would be time and admonition wasted Men who love keep the law It is the enc commandment for keeping all the old commandments.
 This thirteenth chapter can redi- ly be divided into three pats The first lna1c acnncio1l,- comparison of love with other things, the second part tells us what love is by careful analysis of it's in- &redlentS; the third part tells of it's supreme worth and value.
 Men have ever considered elo- quence as one of the cardinal gifts of real value. Yet its inferiority is patent in contrast with love. To sway an audience to laugh or weep as the speaker plays on his words is an unusual gift, but what force have the words if the speakers life fails to ring true?
 The comparison is made with pro pItSS, mysteries, ldltn. Love IS greater than these. Yes, it is greater than faith, because the end is greater than the means. The end is the thing sought, while the means is the vehicle to convey one to the end. Faith connects the heart with God in order that the heart may become like God "Out of the abun dance of the heart the mouth speak eth, and a heart controlled by that which controls God is controlled by love, for God is love Love is even greater than charity, for there are many things done through charity that in evidence fall short of being in the spirit of love- Love does net to5s a two bit piece to every need and bid it farewell Love may withhold giving at all The giving might be a harm to the one who received it and a salve to the con science of the donor If We really love people We will do more for them or less. Divine love is contrasted with natural love. A mother will withhold punishment from her child when withholding it will bring dire ruin in days to come. God deals