2. The Love of God

       Love is a word which has been so debased that it can mean anything, from an adulterer's lust to the indulgence of a lazy parent. Its root meaning, however, is a desire for a person's companionship for their sake; a desire to make someone else happy in the true sense, if possible by being present with them, but if necessary by sacrificing oneself for them. When applied to God it is not sufficient to say that He is loving, but that He is Love: i.e. that loving interest in others is His whole nature, and that all His actions and emotions spring from this one source, the desire for the happiness of others. If He is angry, for example, it is because others are being ill-treated, not Himself.

       This point needs pressing to its logical end, since nearly all Christian Theology has quietly taken it for granted that He is selfish. For instance, the Authorised Version mistranslation of Revelation 4:11 "Thou has created all things, and for Thy pleasure they are and were created" is usually taken for the purest orthodoxy. Whereas, if it were true, we should have a selfish personage at the head of the Creation; yet it has seemed obvious to men that, as all powerful men put themselves first, an Omnipotent God will naturally do the same! The correct translation is of course that given in the Revised Version—"For Thou didst create all things, and because of Thy will they existed and were created". The phrase 'the Divine Right of Kings' has enshrined this dangerous lie, and given a twist to Christian thinking from which it rarely escapes. The glorious truth is that God is perfectly unselfish, and has never done anything to please Himself; and that His Son, the image of His Father, "pleased not Himself" (Romans 15:3). This is the glory of God of which we men have come short. We could not, of course, be magnificent nor powerful nor wise like God, but

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we could be loving, as every mother knows!

       This is the second and greater River of Life that flows from Calvary. We see that the Lord God is personally fond of us all, that He is completely absorbed in His Creation, and follows even the fifth sparrow with His eye. His delights have always been with the Sons of Men (Proverbs 8:31), and from them He deigns to form a company to be known as His Son's Bride, a figure which describes the greatest possible intimacy and satisfaction.

       Righteousness and Justice are necessary plants in the World's Garden, but they cannot bear its choicest fruits. It is only the Tree of Perfect Love that can fully satisfy, and more than satisfy. The revelation of the Love of God for us leads us into such heights of thought and feeling as seem almost inconceivable, as we realise that God desires, not just to save us from destruction, but to lead us to the glory of a Heavenly Throne (Luke 22:29-30; Revelation 3:21). David said that it was God's gentleness that had made him great (Psalm 18:35). The last attribute that the world ascribes to God is gentleness, for their God is Satan (2 Corinthians 4:4), and He is cruel and fierce. Actually, however, God is meek and lowly and understanding and forgiving, and longs to give us rest to our souls (Matthew 11:29). We can put our whole confidence in Him, for if He spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, we can be sure that there is no good thing that He will not give with Him. We find ourselves in the position of beggar boys, who have been adopted by a King and put into training for high office in his kingdom. Daniel, the prisoner of war; Joseph the slave, had similar experiences of life, and shall God be less magnanimous and surprising than Nebuchadnezzar and Pharaoh? God's ambitions for those who love Him are limitless, and only as the Ages of Eternity roll on shall we learn the full

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story—nay, the tale will never be finished, but will go on unfolding and unfolding!

       These two streams of Truth must then flow together in our souls. God's Love does not mean that we can break His Law with impunity, nor does His Law leave us in a hopeless place of guilt. God's love paid the price of our sin, but not in order that we might continue in sin, but instead that, being set free from sin and its penalty, we might never sin again, but live a righteous life. God's Law and its essential Majesty keep us from making the deadly mistake of thinking that He is too kind to punish sin. On the contrary it is His Love, which laid down the Law of Love, without which happiness would be unattainable. As Psalm 85:10 points out, "Mercy and Truth are met together, Righteousness and Peace have kissed each other". The fear of God's justice is tempered by the realisation of His Love. His Love is safeguarded from the danger of abuse by the terror of His Justice (2 Corinthians 5:11). At Calvary both Love and Justice meet, and together produce a heart set against sin, and ravished with Love and Gratitude. Here, and here alone, is the foundation of Eternal Bliss. The mind is satisfied, the will is fixed, and the heart is filled with joy and peace.

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