CHARITY AND LOVE Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. ~ I Corinthians 13:4-7 The spirit of charity, or Christian love, leads us to seek not only our own things, but those of others; and that it disposes us, in many cases, to forego or part with our own things for the sake of others. Christianity requires that we should make God and Christ our main end; and all Christians, so far as they live like Christians, live so that for them to live is Christ. Christians are required to live so as to please God, and so as to prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God (Romans 12:2). We should be such servants of Christ as do in all things seek to please our Master, as says the Apostle: Not with eye-service, as men-pleasers; but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart. ~ Ephesians 6:6 And so we are required in all things whether we eat, or drink, or whatsoever we do, to do all to the glory of God, (I Corinthians 10:31) and this, surely, is a spirit which is the opposite of self-seeking. They that have the spirit of charity, or Christian love, have a spirit to seek the good of their fellow creatures. Thus the apostle commands, Look not every man on his own things; but every man also on the things of others ~ Philippians 2:4. We ought to seek the spiritual good of others; and if we have a Christian spirit, we shall desire and seek their spiritual welfare and happiness, their salvation, and that they may glorify and enjoy God forever. And the same spirit will dispose us to desire and seek the temporal prosperity of others, as says the apostle, Let no man seek his own, but every man anothers wealth. And we should so seek their pleasure, that therein we can, at the same time, seek their profit, as again it is said by the apostle, Even as I please all men in all things, not seeking mine own profit, but the profit of many, that they may be saved. ~ I Corinthians 10:33. And again, Let every one of us please his neighbour for his good to edification. But more particularly, under this head, I would remark, that a spirit of charity, or Christian love, as exercised toward our fellow creatures, is opposite to a selfish spirit, as it is a sympathizing and merciful spirit. It disposes persons to consider not only their own difficulties, but also the burdens and afflictions of others, and the difficulties of their circumstances, and to esteem the case of those who are in straits and necessities as their own. A person of selfish spirit is ready to make much of the afflictions that he himself is under, as if his privations or sufferings were greater than those of anybody else; and if he is not in suffering, he is ready to think he is not called to spare what he has in possession, for the sake of helping others. A selfish man is not apt to discern the wants of others, but rather to overlook them, and can hardly be persuaded to see or feel them. But a man of charitable spirit is apt to see the afflictions of others, and to take notice of their aggravation, and to be filled with concern for them, as he would be for himself if under difficulties. And he is ready, also to help them, and take delight in supplying their necessities, and relieving their difficulties. He rejoices to obey that injunction of the apostle, Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness ~ Colossians 3:12. And to cherish the spirit of the wisdom that is from above, which is full of mercy; (James 3:17). And, like the good man spoken of by the Psalmist in 37:26; He is ever merciful, and lendeth; and his seed is blessed. The spirit of charity not only seeks the good of others that are in affliction, but it is ready to communicate to all, and forward to promote their good, as there may be opportunity. To do good, and to communicate forget not, (Hebrews 13:16); but obeys the exhortation in Galatians 6:10, As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith. Such was the spirit of the apostle Paul when he exclaimed, I am ready not to be bound only, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus ~ Acts 21:13. And the same spirit will dispose us often to forego or part with our own private interest for the good of our neighbor. It will make us ready on every occasion to aid or help them, leading us willingly to part with a lesser good of our own, for the sake of a greater good to them. And the case may even be such, that we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren ~ I John 3:16. It is so with the love of natural affection, and earthly friendship. So far as there is any real affection or friendship, the parties between which it subsists do not seek only their own particular interests, but do espouse and seek the interests of each other. And therefore there is no other love so much above the selfish principle as Christian love is; no love that is so free and disinterested, and in the exercise of which God is so loved for himself and his own sake, and men are loved, not because of their relation to self, but because of their relation to God as his children, and as those who are the creatures of his power, or under the influence of his Spirit. And therefore divine love, or charity, above all love in the world, is contrary to a selfish spirit. Divine love has its spring where its root is in Jesus Christ; and so it is not of this world, but of a higher; and it tends thither, whence it came. And as it does not spring out of self, so neither does it tend to self. It delights in the honor and glory of God, for his own sake, and not merely for the sake of self; and it seeks and delights in the good of men, for their sake, and for Gods sake. If we consider what the Scriptures tell us of the nature of love to God, we find that they teach that those who truly love God, love him so as wholly to devote themselves to him and his service. This we are taught in the sum of the ten commandments, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength ~ Mark 12:30. In these words is contained a description of a right love to God; and they teach us, that those who love him aright do devote themselves wholly to him. They devote all to him: all their heart, and all their soul, and all their mind, and all their strength, or all their powers and faculties. Surely a man who gives all this wholly to God, keeps nothing back, but devotes himself wholly and entirely to him, making no reserve; and all who have true love to God have a spirit to do this. Not only to have regard to our own desires, but to the desires of others, and to do to them as we would have them do to us. The remarkable description which the Scriptures give us of Christian charity, which shows how contrary it is to selfishness, is, that of loving others as Christ hath loved us. A new commandment, says Christ in John 13:34, I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. It is called a new commandment, as contradistinguished from that old one in Leviticus 19:18, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. Not that the duty of love to others, which is the matter of the commandment, was new, for the same kind of love was required of old, under the Old Testament, which is required now. But it is called a new commandment, in this respect, that the rule and motive annexed, which we are now more especially to have an eye to, in these days of the gospel, are new. His elect were, from all eternity, dear to him as the apple of his eye. And his love has sought to unite them to himself, so as to make them, as it were, members of his body, so that they are his flesh and his bones, as he himself seems to say in Matthew 25:40, when he declares, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. He gave up his own ease, and comfort, and interest, and honor, and wealth; and became poor, and outcast, and despised, and had not where to lay his head, and all for us! And not only so, but he shed his own blood for us, and offered himself a sacrifice to Gods justice, that we might be forgiven, and accepted, and saved! Christ thus loved us, without any expectation of ever being requited by us for his love. He did not stand in need of anything we could do for him, and well knew that we should never be able to requite him for his kindness to us, or even to do anything toward it. He knew that we were poor, miserable, and empty-handed outcasts, who might receive from him, but could render nothing to him in return. And shall not we be far from a selfish spirit, and utterly contrary to it, if we love one another after such a manner as this, or if we have the same spirit of love toward others that was in Christ toward ourselves? If this is our spirit, our love to others will not depend on their love to us, but we shall do as Christ did to us love them even though they are enemies. We shall not only seek our own things, but we shall in our hearts be so united to others, that we shall look on their things as our own. We shall endeavor to be interested in their good, as Christ was in ours; and shall be ready to forego and part with our own things, in many cases, for the things of others, as Christ did towards us. And these things we shall be willing and ready to do for others, without any expectation of being repaid by them, as Christ did such great things for us without any expectation of requital or return. If such be our spirit, we shall not be under the influence of a selfish spirit, but shall be unselfish in principle, and heart, and life. Ye are not your own; for ye are bought with a price, even with the precious blood of Christ (I Corinthians 6:19, 20; I Peter 1:19). And this is urged as an argument why Christians should not seek themselves, but the glory of God; for the apostle adds, Therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are Gods. By nature you were in a miserable, lost condition, a captive in the hands of divine justice, and a miserable slave in the bondage of sin and Satan. And Christ has redeemed you, and so you are his by purchase. And as you are not your own, so nothing that you have is your own. Your abilities of body and mind, your outward possessions, your time, talents, influence, comforts - none of them are your own. Christ and all Christians are so united together, that they all make but one body; and of this body Christ is the head, and Christians are the members. We, being many, says the apostle, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another ~ Romans 12:5; and again, By one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free ~ I Corinthians 12:13. How unbecoming, then, is it in Christians to be selfish, and concerned only for their own private interests! So it should be with the Christian body. All its members should be helpers and comforts to each other, and thus promote their mutual welfare and happiness, and the glory of Christ the head. If you will devote yourself to God, as making a sacrifice of all your own interests to him, you will not throw yourself away. Though you seem to neglect yourself, and to deny yourself, and to overlook self in imitating the divine benevolence, God will take care of you; and he will see to it that your interest is provided for, and your welfare made sure. But if you seek not your own, but the things of Christ, and the good of your fellowmen, God himself will be yours, and Christ yours, and the Holy Spirit yours, and all things yours. Yes, all things shall be yours; whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all are yours; and ye are Christs; and Christ is Gods ~ I Corinthians 3:21, 22. https://facebook/groups/1610832099144591/
Posted on: Sun, 28 Dec 2014 10:09:14 +0000
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