God lives and works today.
We should all be able to see him
at work in our lives, especially in our
relationships with our family and at work.
How many times our love and patience are
tried during the day?
And how many times do we fall flat
on our faces?
But, God can transform everything, also in this
area of our lives, as we'll hear in
today's meditation by Basilea Schlink called No Longer
Loveless.
No Longer Loveless The greatest thing of all,
in time and in eternity, is love.
That is why there is no greater guilt
than the sin against love.
We were created in the image of God,
who is love, and after the fall we
were redeemed to love through our Lord Jesus
Christ.
Therefore, nothing pierces God's heart more deeply than
our not reflecting his image of love.
Yes, the Apostle Paul states in 1 Corinthians
13 that without love we are nothing, and
that our supposedly loving deeds, like giving away
all we have, or delivering our bodies to
be burned, are also nothing.
All our words and actions, our whole being,
have to be filled with love.
Otherwise, no matter what we do, we will
constantly become guilty towards others.
Several years ago, we consecrated our small nursing
home here on Canaan, in which the old
and infirm not only receive physical care, but
share the same common aim of faith, to
let love be victorious in all the tensions
of everyday life.
This would bring true joy to our Lord
Jesus.
Mother Basilea told all of us on the
day of consecration, in the life of our
Lord Jesus, love was always the victor.
Towards his enemies, Jesus responded with only love,
and therefore he won in every battle.
Surely in Jesus' heart must have been the
temptation to give up and write off all
the people who were tormenting him.
For the Bible tells us that he was
tempted in all things as we are, but
now he stands before us as the Lamb
of God, who triumphed over all temptations.
And because we have him as our Lord,
we too can attain the high goal of
merciful love.
It's actually possible through repentance, for through repentance
we learn to see ourselves as the guilty
one whenever we can't bear a certain person
in love.
Jesus is calling to us, fight the good
fight of faith for this love and mercy.
Yes, we must fight till the point of
shedding blood, for with his words it is
finished, a new fount has been opened for
us, and his love will flow forth from
this fount through his precious blood.
I am redeemed I am redeemed Love burns
in me and flows And like a flood
God's love now slowly flows Forever from those
bleeding wounds this stream will run This holy
stream of love from God's own Son I
am redeemed This program by Basilea Schlenk has
come to you from the Little Land of
Canaan.
If you would like a free leaflet by
the same author, please write to God Lives
and Works Today, 9849 North 40th Street, Phoenix,
AZ 85028-4099.
That's God Lives and Works Today, 9849 North
40th Street, Phoenix, AZ 85028-4099.
God bless you.