He who loves fulfills God’s law and allows God to write in his heart and put into his mind God’s commandment: ‘That ye love one another.’ And he does not merely give the Most High his gracious permission to do this, but asks Him for it day and night and thirsts to abide in this gift, praying and imploring the Heavenly Father to grant this power and by no means take it away.
At the same time, however, a loving heart trembles at the thought of its own imperfection and by faith takes hold of Jesus, not letting Him go.
If I love but do not know Christ personally and tell no one about Him, if I am not interested in reading, thinking, or speaking about Him, then something is wrong with my love. Perhaps it is a well-developed fleshly quality of my mind. I see the advantage of such a condition in society and adapt myself to its demand. God has given each of us a set of good natural qualities of the soul, such as kindness, friendliness, cordiality, conscience, concern, heartache, a sense of justice, conditional love, conditional joy, comfort, and much more. All people possess these qualities and can develop them. But inborn good qualities of the soul and spiritual fruit differ from one another in this: a person who lives according to the flesh tries to bring all his good character traits to perfection by his own strength, training his will, disciplining himself, and keeping his soul in an ‘iron grip,’ forcing it to do what it sometimes does not want to do. A spiritual person, however, understands his own weakness and imperfection and relies by faith solely on the merits of Jesus Christ. He asks for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit and does everything as God directs, trusting in His power and help in every good gift. If such a person is accused of some sin, even in a biased and false way, he will not argue or contradict you, but will press close to Jesus with all his heart and ask: ‘Is this so, Lord? Please forgive and cleanse me. Show me how You see me in this situation.’
A loving heart trembles at the very thought that some sin may be found in the soul and defile it. And such a person works out his salvation with fear and trembling, fearing that he may be found unclean. He finds his only comfort and assurance of salvation in trusting in Jesus, believing in Him, communicating with Him, beholding Him, and becoming one with Him in one Spirit. And the Lord does not leave me alone with my anxieties, but assures me of His Love through His promises, through the assurance that I am God’s son and have been accepted by the Father through faith in Jesus. The Holy Spirit gives His testimony that I am a member of God’s family and have nothing to fear. As a pledge of my salvation, I find rest in my heart and peace with God. This is a wonderful state of the soul. I realize my imperfection, I see my corruption, and memories of past mistakes and sins plunge me into shame and horror, but my heart reaches out to Jesus, Who has forgiven and forgotten all of it and will never reproach me for my past. And I believe that with Him I will overcome everything. And the peace of God, which surpasses my understanding, fills my mind. I cannot even describe what it is, but I can affirm one thing: it is a very pleasant state. I have found the One Who helps me whenever I turn to Him, answers all my prayers, and assures me that He is my Friend, Helper, and Wonderful Counselor.
And yet, when I read the book about the acts of the Apostles and see clear signs and manifestations of the power of the Holy Spirit, I understand that I have not yet experienced such an encounter and such a baptism. And I greatly thirst to experience it.
Reflecting on the time of the Apostles, I come to the conclusion that the people of that age did not yet have sufficient light, and God had to accomplish visibly, through apparent miracles and signs, all that we read about. Now a time of abundant light has come, and herein lies our advantage over the Christians of that period. God no longer acts so visibly; He works differently, teaching us consciously to live and walk in the light, in obedience and knowledge, and thereby to keep ourselves from all evil. And I think that the absence of vivid, visible manifestations of God’s power helps me look more deeply into God’s providence and analyze each situation, comparing God’s will, law, and light with what is taking place in my life, as I trust by faith that God participates in all my movements and undertakings. And then the Lord Himself decides whether to manifest His visible power and perform miracles, whether to give me visible answers in this way or not.
I receive all my discoveries and revelations from God through the Holy Spirit within me. No one sends me visions, no one speaks into my ears, yet I hear God’s voice and see Him in my life. And the nearer He is, the more my heart trembles because of its unworthiness. And the only justification I can offer for myself is expressed in these words: ‘Ask Jesus about me, and whatever He considers me to be, that is what I am. I can add nothing more to this. Only the Lord is able to evaluate me correctly and worthily, and He will not be mistaken.’
However, I have noticed that while showing me all my imperfection, Jesus also reveals to me the virtues of those with whom I am friends, whom I love, and with whom I associate. He shows me the whole person with all his particular qualities, but asks me to pay attention to the best aspects of his soul and life and to build my relationship with him upon them. And this is so interesting! You know much about a person, yet you see only what is beautiful. And with such an approach, love helps you receive him into your heart as a friend and love him always.
I am especially glad that the number of my friends keeps growing, and at times I am physically unable to embrace them all and maintain constant relationships with them, because I must attend to other matters as well. Yet I can carefully preserve them in my heart. My love for them does not die, but at the first opportunity makes itself known and, when necessary, begins to act, caring for a friend’s happiness and blessing. And how wonderful it is when an opportunity arises to talk, to meet, to spend time together, simply to be near and see a friend with your own eyes. The heart rejoices even when he passes by or stands nearby, and you see and love him, while he sometimes does not even realize what a source of inspiration and joy he may be to you—his word or sincere smile. And how I sometimes love to watch my friends and delight in seeing and hearing them, knowing that they are mine, my own. Some people love to count their treasures, but my treasure is those whom I love and whom I have brought into my heart as friends.
But when an urgent need arises, I must draw these blessings out of many of my modest friends for myself as well. Then I stir up their minds. What else can I do? We must learn to love one another, must we not?
And in such relationships of friendship and love there is a special reward from the Lord that we receive in this bustling life.
Friendship does not save me, but it makes me fit for Eternal life.
The joy of relationships makes me happy, but it does not add holiness to me. Yet I have Jesus, in Whom I receive both salvation and holiness, and possessing these, I can calmly be a friend and rejoice in life in love and friendship. And this is a gift from the Lord.
Homework 159
What interesting things did you note for yourself in this lesson? What is the difference between a good fleshly person and a spiritual person? What must be done in order to receive spiritual power? How can I determine whether I am a fleshly or a spiritual person? How do you receive revelations from God? Seeing what is beautiful in people—how does this ability help in friendship? Please read Romans 6:22; Psalm 62:1–2, 11; 1 Chronicles 16:11; Amos 5:4; Jeremiah 24:7; 31:34; 29:13; Proverbs 12:1; 1 Thessalonians 5:11; Ephesians 5:18; and Philippians 2:12–13 in the light of our lesson.