Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"
What's wrong with the world?
The Lord Jesus Christ has the answer: "Because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold" (Matt. 24:12). Is love the problem? Or the lack of it? Could we translate that to mean that people are disobeying the holy law of God? Yes, of course that's true. And do they need to be warned?
But is it wiser to say that people are disregarding the holy law of God because they do not truly know what that "love of God" means? Could it be that instead of needing to be warned, people need to be won?
If we had a meter that could determine the extent of our true obedience, it would register the awareness there is in our soul of the love of Christ; and that would directly correlate with the extent of our obedience to the law of God.
The reason? "He who loves another has fulfilled the law. ... If there is any other commandment, [it is] all summed up in this saying, namely, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law" (Rom. 13:8-10). That is not teaching we should love self. Luther got that right long ago; now you love others as you have always previously, naturally, loved yourself.
Our "love-meter" is not to measure our love for Christ; it is to measure our appreciation of His love for us. We are not saved by our love for Jesus. We are saved by His love for us.
We will gain an incalculable blessing if we will get on our knees, and, as a wise writer has said, "spend a thoughtful hour each day in contemplation of the life of Christ, especially the closing scenes." Let His love, not yours, wash through your soul. Don't begrudge the time!
--Robert J. Wieland
From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: November 12, 2007.
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