THE WILL TO LOVE - Vital Christianity

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68It was while we were hideous to God that He loved us and died for us!And this same passage tells us that Christ died for us while we were yet sinners and italso tells us that He died for us while we were “helpless, without strength” (v. 6). There was nopossibility of our ever helping ourselves out of our lost condition.“If that is the standard, I may as well admit right now that I cannot attain it” might be theresponse of some of us. And that is true. In ourselves we cannot attain God’s holy perfectstandard. God’s love—divine love, supernatural love, indiscriminate love—is possible only tothose in whom the Lord Jesus Christ is working and in whom His love dwells. If you are not aChristian, you must begin by becoming one and asking Him to create that love in you, or, if youare a Christian but are far from the Lord, you must draw near to Him and ask Him to work outthat love in you.<strong>THE</strong> SOURCEOnly the imparted grace of God can empower us to scale the heights of impartial,indiscriminate love. We are compelled to cry with St. Augustine:“O God, give what Thou commandest, then command what Thou wilt.”This is just what God has done for us through the inner working of His Spirit:“. . . God has poured out His love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whomHe has given us” (Ro 5:5).The source of God’s love, the power to manifest His love is found in God Himself. As weobey the Lord in serving our fellow men, friend and foe alike, the Holy Spirit pours out His loveinto our lives and this love spills over to other people.Is your love impartial, without discrimination? Like the God who sends His sun and rainon the good and bad alike, are you impartial in your love—omitting no group, loving enemies aswell as friends?EXAMPLESIn His famous sermon entitled, “Loving Your Enemies,” Martin Luther King powerfullypreached:“To our most bitter opponents we say: ‘We shall match your capacity to inflictsuffering by our capacity to endure suffering. We shall meet your physical forcewith soul force. Do to us what you will, and we shall continue to love you.
69We cannot in all good conscience obey your unjust laws, because non co-operationwith evil is as much a moral obligation as is co-operation with good. Throw us injail, and we shall still love you. Bomb our homes and threaten our children, and weshall still love you. Send your hooded perpetrators of violence into our communityat the midnight hour and beat us and leave us half dead, and we shall still love you.But be ye assured that we will wear you down by our capacity to suffer. One daywe shall win freedom, but not only for ourselves. We shall so appeal to your heartand conscience that we shall win you in the process, and our victory will be adouble victory.” 7 (Emphasis added)
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1THE WILL TO LOVELars Wilhelmsson
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4He who loves calls us also to love
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6We live in a world starved for lov
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8“Division has done more to hide
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10D. L. Moody painfully recognized
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12A COMMANDGod knew it would be har
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14The familiar story of David and G
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16CHAPTER 2 FOURFOLD DIMENSION OF L
Page 18 and 19: 18Our faith and love are tested whe
Page 20 and 21: 20STORGEStorage is the word used in
Page 22 and 23: 22PHILIAThe third word for love is
Page 24 and 25: 24The pre-Christian use of the word
Page 26 and 27: 26HOW DO I LEARN TO LOVE?1 John 4:7
Page 28 and 29: 28Prolongs lifePrevents or cures ma
Page 30 and 31: 30We can only love to the degree to
Page 32 and 33: 32THE DISCIPLINE OF LOVEHebrew 12:5
Page 34 and 35: 34Holiness, not happiness, is God
Page 36 and 37: 36God’s discipline is a sign that
Page 38 and 39: 38“Moreover, we have all have hum
Page 40 and 41: 40CHAPTER 5 SERVICE: LOVE IN OVERAL
Page 42 and 43: 42To love Jesus is to love His peop
Page 44 and 45: 44Quickly my bubble popped, the ide
Page 46 and 47: 46TIMOTHY AS AN EXAMPLEAccording to
Page 48 and 49: 48Jesus Christ came not to be minis
Page 50 and 51: 50CHAPTER 6 SHOULD WE LOVE OURSELVE
Page 52 and 53: 52How different from the words of J
Page 54 and 55: 54At creation, God was pleased with
Page 56 and 57: 56As far as we know the apostle Pau
Page 58 and 59: 58CHAPTER 7 LOVING OUR ENEMIES
Page 60 and 61: 60insults us or injures us or griev
Page 62 and 63: 62The last part of Hebrews 11 catal
Page 64 and 65: 64“You have heard that it was sai
Page 66 and 67: 66“Love indiscriminately, therefo
Page 70 and 71: 70Love is the most durable power in
Page 72 and 73: 72LOVE’S TRUE TEST Part IJohn 14:
Page 74 and 75: 74Suppose the boy paused to ask,
Page 76 and 77: 76Here we have the great God whom t
Page 78 and 79: 78The God who has revealed that “
Page 80 and 81: 80“Faith and obedience are bound
Page 82 and 83: 82“Cheap grace is the preaching o
Page 84 and 85: 84Service in the name of Christ is,
Page 86 and 87: 86While they claimed Jesus as Lord,
Page 88 and 89: 88Ralph Sockman, a preacher, noted
Page 90 and 91: 90CHAPTER 10 LOVE IS ALSO FEELING
Page 92 and 93: 92The Bible states, “As He (Jesus
Page 94 and 95: 94The author of the book of Hebrews
Page 96 and 97: 96On the day of Pentecost the early
Page 98 and 99: 98In speaking of Jesus Faber says:
Page 100 and 101: 100the sake of God; if we are in ou
Page 102 and 103: 1025“When God Disciplines in Love
Page 104 and 105: 104BIBLIOGRAPHYSt. Augustine, The C
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THE WILL TO LOVE - Vital Christianity

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