The midland journal., 1946-09-27

his only begotten Son John 3:l6).
The law ef love is therefore appro-
pirate as the subject of our closing
lesson on the general theme, Jesus
Interprets Old Testament Laws"
Love is the heavenly gift of God,
who is love, to man who so much
needs its grace and power for his
own life and for his living with
others.
1. The Mind Of Love FPS. 1898
35).
Eight times in this psalm there
is found the cry of verse SO for in
struction in the laws of God. Man
not only must know them, but he
must know how they operate. The
picture here is that of a man who
wants to get in step with God,
marching out to spiritual warfare
and being prepared to respond in
prompt obedience to the commands
of his divine leader.
Here we have the true mind Of
love. The one rightly instructed in
the principles of Gods rule in the
world sees that love is the basic re-
quirement, but that it expresses it.
self in life that is in accord with
the will of God.
The thought of this passage is well
expressed by DR.. w. R. White: "The
psalmist had the highest possible
conception of love before the revela-
tion in Christ. He saw it as the
basic order of things. He conceived
it as Identical with the will of God.
He viewed it as the safe, happy path
for man. He considered it as the
way of wisdom. He passionately
desired to embrace it and order his
life by it. He saw it imparting
to the naive and simple the benefits
of extraordinary judgment. To
measure up he knew that he had to
be quickebted Or made alive to it by
the power of God"
| ii. The Manner of Love Cps. 119:
36-38).
Love operates not from necessity,
but because of an inner urge which
will not be denied. The psalmist
prays that his heart may be so in
clined toward the Lord and so
quickened within that he may be
eager to do the will of God.
Love has technique, if you will,
a manner of operation. 1t avoids
certain things which would hinder
or prevent it's full function and
seeks out those attitudes and ex-
periences which will encourage and
enlarge.
Covetousness must be avoided, for
that is ldolatry (Col 3:5). We noted
in our lesson of two weeks ago
that cOvetousness makes a man
stingy, envious, selfish, proud and
| foolish. That means that love must
rule out this destructive element.
Love cannot live in such an atmos-
phere.
Love turns away from vanity. The
vain things of this world are usually
presented in such attractive dress
| that to look at them is to be tempt
ed. The answer is to turn your
eyes away, or better still, ask God
to give you special grace not only
to turn away, but to stay turned
away. The vain passions of this
world destroy real love, even while
using the word to describe their
base counterfeit.
The positive side of the matter is
also clear. The manner in which
love best expresses itself is in the
fear OF God, in the established order
of life according to the law of
God ". 38). BY being inclined to
his testimonies it finds the right
way-God's way ". 37).
iii. The Measure Of Love (Matt.
5:43-48).
How far does love 60? Does il
have limit? Does it choose those
toward whom it will express itself,
loving the lovely and ignoring or
hating the rest? In answer to these
questions let us first ask, What is
the general attitude of the world?
The answer is evident. The world
has established its own principle of
conduct based on selfish advantage.
It pays to be polite to those who
can favor you, so cultivate their
good will by acts of courtesy and
kindness. Your neighbor may be
able to help you in an hour of need,
so do good to him as you have op-
portunity.
But an enemy-what can you gain
from kindness to him? Hate him,
and treat him like an enemy.
Christianity knows nothing of such
spirit. Even though it be neces-
sary to oppose wicked men in order
to hinder their evil plans, we need
| not lose our love for them. Even
those who despitefully use us may
be loved for Christ's sake.
! Consider him that endured such
contradiction of sinners against
himself (and went right on loving
them) lest We be wearied" in your
own love for those who bear the sad
name of enemies (see Heb. 12:3).
This is admittedly a high stand
ard, but it is not too high for those
who bnow the love Of Christ.