Him Whom I have not seen, I love » Love

Love One Another

~Bryant — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 02:29:43 +0000

I recieved an encouraging e-mail this morning from a friend (love you, Bekah dear). We had been talking about abiding in Christ two weeks ago at church. We both have been finding ourselves seeking to be abiding in Christ, but struggling to know what exactly it means: how do we live out this “abiding in Christ” in day-to-day living?

My friend sent this quote to me:

We have the Holy Spirit to make the living Christ, in all His saving power, and in the completeness of His victory over sin, ever present with us. It is this that constitutes Him the Comforter; with Him we need never mourn the absent Christ. Let us therefore, as often as we read, or meditate, or pray in connection with this abiding in Christ, reckon upon it as a settled thing that we have the Spirit of God Himself within us, teaching, and guiding, and working.

Let us rejoice in the confidence that we must succeed in our desires, because the Holy Spirit is working all the while with secret, but divine power, in the soul that does not hinder Him by its unbelief.

So what does this mean? Simply this: that we are to live out our days trusting, believing, and rejoicing in the fact that the Holy Spirit makes the power that snatched Christ physically from the tomb, available daily to us. This Spirit is working, living, and abiding in us.

It was interesting how the Lord worked out the timing of her e-mail, since this morning I read in John 15, where Jesus speaks about remaining, or abiding, in Him. v. 4 says:

Remain in Me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in Me.

Just as a branch trimmed from a tree or a plant plucked from the ground quickly shrivels and dies, so do we, if we do not consistently “feed” on the true Vine — which is Christ.

I wrote in my journal this morning: “But what does this truly mean, to remain in Christ? Father, please teach me what this means.”

I continued reading, and later on, Jesus said:

If you obey My commands, you will remain in My love, just as I have obeyed My Father’s commands and remain in His love.

I immediately thought, “Well, what are His commands?” My question was answered in v. 12 and 17.

My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.

This is My command: Love each other.

Hmmm…love each other. It sounds simple enough. But I’m sure you have found, as I have, that the day-to-day living out of these three simple words proves very difficult.

::: There are many times when you don’t feel love for someone, even when you know that you ought to love them. It is then that you must choose to do what you would do, if you loved them. You can’t base whether you act loving to them on feelings.

::: And then there are times when you do feel love for someone, but you know that it’s not right, or not the right time. It is then that love hurts the most. For love is one of the strongest forces in the world. But, even though it is painful, and even though it is hard, you must choose to do what is best for right now, because sometimes, truly loving someone means sacrificing what you feel like doing for what is best.

Remain in Me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in Me.

Posted in Devotions, Love

The Sad Saga of an “Un-cute” Little Girl

~Bryant — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 20:52:47 +0000

I visited the home of a friend of a friend. She had three young children of her own, one on the way, and was also baby-sitting two other young children. One of which was a 6-month-old baby girl.

When I walked in the house, she was sitting in a little seat on the counter, screaming at the top of her lungs. The lady made no move to go and comfort her, so I did. I picked up the little dear, and began to slowly rock her.

Then I noticed two things.

The first was that her head had a flat place on the back, making me wonder how often she was ever held.

The second thing was that she appeared to have very little muscle control and coordination. Her arms flailed wildly, as if she had no control over them at all. She couldn’t sit up, she couldn’t roll over, she couldn’t do many things that a 6-month-old baby should be able to do.
This second observation only further confirmed my previous observation.

She was rarely held.

It was then that the lady told me her opinion of the baby.

“I never hold her,” she stated matter-of-factly.

“I don’t think she’s a very cute baby.”

My heart broke. I felt great sorrow for this little baby, then great anger at this woman. I wanted to smack her and say,

“For crying out loud, she can’t help it if she’s not cute!

She just wants someone to hold and love her!”

Later in the day, I began to replay the scenario in my mind.

I thought about how grateful I am that the Lord does not so easily reject me because of the many times I’ve rejected Him, like this lady rejected the baby girl.

He doesn’t reject me because of the promises I’ve made to Him and haven’t kept. Like the prostitute who came and asked for forgiveness from Jesus, He has forgiven me, too.

He doesn’t pick others who are more faithful to Him.

He doesn’t care how sinful, wretched, unworthy I am.

He loves me even though I am incredibly far from perfect.

He has accepted each of us as His sons and daughters, “while we were still sinners.”

He still holds us in His arms, regardless of our imperfection and unworthiness of His love and care.

He is incredibly patient with our shortcomings, incredibly forgiving of our offenses, and always listens to our pleas for help and guidance.

He is always there.

Beyond comprehension

~Bryant — Fri, 12 Oct 2007 01:51:00 +0000

I trust in God’s unfailing love for ever and ever.

-Psalm 52:8

God notices the most trivial act,

accepts the poorest, most threadbare little service,

listens to the coldest, feeblest petition,

and gathers up with parental fondness all our fragmentary desires and attempts at good works.

Oh, if we could only begin to conceive how He loves us,

what different creatures we would be!

Elizabeth Prentiss

His love is beyond our comprehension!

Love Song for my Savior

~Bryant — Tue, 31 Oct 2006 00:39:00 +0000

In open fields of wild flowers, she breathes the air and flies away

She thanks her Jesus for the daisies and the roses in no simple language

Someday she’ll understand the meaning of it all

He’s more than the laughter or the stars in the heavens

As close a heartbeat or a song on her lips

Someday she’ll trust Him and learn how to see Him

Someday He’ll call her and she will come running and fall in His

arms and the tears will fall down and she’ll pray,

“I want to fall in love with You”

Sitting silent wearing Sunday best

The sermon echoes through the walls

A great salvation through it calls to the people who stare into nowhere,

and can’t feel the chains on their souls

He’s more than the laughter or the stars in the heavens

As close a heartbeat or a song on our lips

Someday we’ll trust Him and learn how to see Him

Someday He’ll call us and we will come running and fall in His arms and the tears will fall down and we’ll pray,

“I want to fall in love with You”

It seems too easy to call you “Savior”,

Not close enough to call you “God”

So as I sit and think of words I can mentionto show my devotion

“I want to fall in love with You”

The Greatest Mystery

~Bryant — Fri, 27 Oct 2006 01:33:00 +0000

“I am a dreadful creature! I am angry with myself, angry with everybody, and angry with God. I can’t be good two minutes at a time. I do every thing I do not want to do , and do nothing I try and pray to do. Everygody plagues and tempts me. And God does not answer any of my prayers, and I am just desperate.”

“Poor child. Poor heartsick, tired child, that cannot see what I can see, that its Father’s loving arms are all about it? All that you say may be true. I dare say it is. But God loves you. He loves you!”

“He love me! He loves me! Oh, if I could only believe that! If I could believe that after all the promises I have broken, all the foolish, wrong things I have done, and shall always be doing, God perhaps still loves me!”

“You may be sure of it. I, his minister, bring the Gospel to you today. Go home and say over and over to yourself: ‘I am a wayward foolish child. But He loves me! I have disobeyed and grieved Him ten-thousand times over. But He loves me! I have lost faith in some of my dearest friends and am very desolate. But He loves me! I do not love Him, I am very angry with Him. But He loves me!’”

“But Father, I have…”

“Yes, My child, I know what you have done. But what of it? I still… Love you!

This perhaps is one of the greatest mysteries of all time; that Jesus loves us!

~His love endures forever…~

Quotations taken from one of my favorite books: Stepping Heavenward