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“Without love there is nothing, and love without action is incomplete.”
Stella
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Word
“The Glory of God revealed through His Love”
The glory of God is the visible manifestation of His Presence. Israel during their 40 years in the wilderness saw the glory of the Lord in the cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night, visible manifestations of His continual presence with them.
Our response to seeing the glory of God is to glorify Him. We read, “The chief end of man is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever” (Shorter Westminster Catechism). How can the Church and the individual Christian bring glory to God? By living Christ-centred lives.
On one occasion when the religious leaders were trying to trap Jesus and test Him, we read:
Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
Matt. 22:34-40
So by loving God and loving our neighbour we manifest the glory of God with the result that people will glorify Him. Jesus not only preached this, but put it into practice, and we frequently read of Him being motivated by deep compassion e.g.,
When He came near the gate of the city, behold, a dead man was being carried out, the only son of his mother; and she was a widow … When the Lord saw her, He had compassion on her and said to her, “Do not weep.” Then He came and touched the open coffin, and those who carried him stood still. He said, “Young man, I say to you, arise.” So he who was dead sat up and began to speak. He presented him to his mother. They were all filled with awe and glorified God.
Luke 7:12-16
As Jesus put the greatest commandments into action people responded by glorifying God. The Beatles sang a song, “All you need is love” and it reached number 1 for 11 weeks even in USA, in 1967 the so called ‘summer of love’. “It remains one of the band’s most beloved songs of all time for its … enduring message.” It’s still the enduring message and Jesus performed the ultimate act of love, giving His life for the deep need of this lost world. So the Beatles song was short of a few words because, “All you need is the love of Jesus,” Amen!
Quote of the week
“In the unrevived state of the church, saints go racing to find sinners. But in the revived state of the church, sinners will come racing to find the Saviour.”
J. Edwin Orr
Verse of the week
But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd.
Matthew 9:36
Let’s Pray
Heavenly Father, we glorify You for revealing Your glory especially through Your love for us. Help us to bring glory to Your Name by loving one another, our neighbours, and even our enemies, that Your glory might be seen in and through Your Church, in Jesus Christ Amen!