Love - God in Human Form

"Oh how great is thy goodness, which thou hast laid up for them that fear thee" (Psalm 31:19)

The Holy Spirit helps us recognize the kind of love we received from Jesus Christ, who has freed us from our sins by His blood. Have you yet learned that love is not a thing of reason? Love tries to be reasonable, but it seldom succeeds. Thee is a sweet wisdom in love that is above reason - it rises above it and gos far beyond it. Who could ever imagine the God of all the universe condensing Himself into human form and, out of His love, dying for His alienated people? It seems an unreasonable thing to do, but it was reasonable in that it was the supreme wisdom of the mighty God!

The saintly Lady Julian, centuries ago, cherished this love that is ours in Christ. She wrote: "Out of His goodness, God made us. Out of His goodness, He keeps us. When man had sinned, He redeemed us again our of His goodness. Then do you not suppose that God will give His children the best of everything out of His goodness?"

God is not justice. God is not wisdom. God is not power. God has all these attributes but none of them is great enough to constitute His essence. But love is His very nature and in love all other attributes find their completeness.

~A. W. Tozer~

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From Inquire to Desire

"For the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish" (Psalm 1:6)

It is not enough to inquire about the power of the crucified life and the Spirit-filled life. It is not enough to want it - it must be desired and claimed above everything else. There must be an abandonment to Jesus Christ to realize it. The individual must want the fullness of Christ with such desire that he will turn his back on whatever else matters in his life and walk straight to the arms of Jesus!

So much for the case of the rich young ruler. His veil was taken away and he turned from Jesus Christ. He was still the hypocrite, still a covetous man, a money-lover, a breaker of the law. Above all, he was still a sinner, and Christless.

He had to pay a great price to keep what he loved most. We have no idea in terms of money and land and possessions what the rich young ruler paid in his refusal to follow Jesus.

The secret of a Christlike life lies partly in the deep longing for it. We grow like the ideals that we admire. We reach unconsciously at last the things we aspire to. Ask God to give you a high conception of the character of Christ and an intense desire to be like Him and you will never rest until you reach your ideal.

~A. W. Tozer~