Spurgeon.
“Thou shalt love thy neighbour.”
- Mat_5:43
“Love thy neighbour.” Perhaps he rolls in riches, and
thou art poor, and living in thy little cot side-by-side with his
lordly mansion; thou seest every day his estates, his fine linen,
and his sumptuous banquets; God has given him these gifts, covet
not his wealth, and think no hard thoughts concerning him. Be content
with thine own lot, if thou canst not better it, but do not look
upon thy neighbour, and wish that he were as thyself. Love him,
and then thou wilt not envy him.
Perhaps, on the other hand, thou art rich, and near thee reside
the poor. Do not scorn to call them neighbour. Own that thou art
bound to love them. The world calls them thy inferiors. In what
are they inferior? They are far more thine equals than thine inferiors,
for “God hath made of one blood all people that dwell upon
the face of the earth.” It is thy coat which is better than
theirs, but thou art by no means better than they. They are men,
and what art thou more than that? Take heed that thou love thy neighbour
even though he be in rags, or sunken in the depths of poverty.
But, perhaps, you say, “I cannot love my neighbours, because
for all I do they return ingratitude and contempt.” So much
the more room for the heroism of love. Wouldst thou be a feather-bed
warrior, instead of bearing the rough fight of love? He who dares
the most, shall win the most; and if rough be thy path of love,
tread it boldly, still loving thy neighbours through thick and thin.
Heap coals of fire on their heads, and if they be hard to please,
seek not to please them, but to please thy Master; and remember
if they spurn thy love, thy Master hath not spurned it, and thy
deed is as acceptable to him as if it had been acceptable to them.
Love thy neighbour, for in so doing thou art following the footsteps
of Christ.
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The Lord
is saying..... I will never leave you nor forsake you, yet
you are doubting my love in this situation. Look unto me only
and take your eyes off the waves and rejoice because I am
the captain of your boat and shall steer it into a safe harbour.
Do not be afraid - I am here.
Love
- The greatest gift of all - Part 3
1Corinthians
3:12,13
Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious
stones, wood, hay, stubble; Every man's work shall be made
manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be
revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work
of what sort it is.
Jesus
is our foundation. Thank God he reached for us the standard
of perfection we could never reach. Yet we are called to build
upon this foundation with the finest of materials. When the
fires of testings have come and gone, we shall be saved, and
in the ashes that remain will be the gold, silver and precious
stones of all we have done in love.
And
now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest
of these is love.
1 Corinthians 13:13
Only
when we work in love can we be fully confident that our works
will stand the test in that day. Remember, child of God, it
will be your works that are judged, not you, and on that day
each one’s praise will come from God.
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| email:
shirleyhowitt@houseofbread.net |
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