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How God’s Love
is Manifested, Part 1
by Ellen G. White
True love is not merely a sentiment
or an emotion. It is a living principle, a principle that is manifest in
action. True love, wherever it exists, will control the life. Thus it is with
the love of God. "God is love;" and in all His works, in all His dealings with
mankind, His character is revealed.
God manifested His love in the work
of creation. When the earth was created, it was holy and beautiful. God
pronounced it "very good." Every flower, every shrub, every tree, answered the
purpose of its Creator. Everything upon which the eye rested was lovely, and
filled the mind with thoughts of the love of God. Every sound was music, in
perfect harmony with the voice of God.
The things of nature, upon which we
look today, give us but a faint conception of Eden's beauty and glory; yet the
natural world, with unmistakable voice, proclaims the love of God. Even now
"the earth is full of the goodness of the Lord." It still reveals the working
of the great Master-Artist. It declares that One omnipotent in power, great in
goodness and mercy, has created all things.
The green fields, the lofty trees,
the glad sunshine, the clouds, the dew, the solemn silence of the night, the
glory of the starry heavens, and the moon in its beauty, all bear witness to
His wonder-working power. Not a drop of rain falls, not a ray of light is shed
upon our unthankful world, but it testifies to God's long forbearance and His
great love.
Through tempting man to sin, Satan
hoped to counteract the tide of divine love flowing to the human race; but,
instead of this, his work resulted in calling forth new and deeper
manifestations of God's mercy and His goodness.
In redemption God has revealed His
love in sacrifice, a sacrifice so broad and deep and high that it is
immeasurable. "God so loved the world, that He gave his only begotten Son, that
whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life."
When Adam's sin plunged the race into
hopeless misery, God might have cut Himself loose from fallen beings. He might
have treated them as sinners deserve to be treated. He might have commanded the
angels of heaven to pour out upon our world the vials of His wrath. He might
have removed this dark blot from His universe. But He did not do this. Instead
of banishing them from His presence, He came still nearer to the fallen race.
He gave His Son to become bone of our bone, and flesh of our flesh. "The Word
was made flesh, and dwelt among us (and we beheld His glory, the glory as of
the only begotten of the Father), full of grace and truth." Christ by His human
relationship to men drew them close to God. He clothed His divine nature with
the garb of humanity, and demonstrated before the heavenly universe, before the
unfallen worlds, how much God loves the children of men.
The gift of God to man is beyond
computation. Nothing was withheld. God would not permit it to be said that He
could have done more, or revealed to humanity a greater measure of love. In the
gift of Christ He gave all heaven.
The Highest, who was with the Father
before the world was, submitted to humiliation that He might uplift humanity.
Prophecy withdraws the veil, that we may behold the throne of heaven, that we
may see upon that throne, high and lifted up, One who in human form came to our
world to suffer, to be lacerated with stripes, and bruised for our iniquities.
"The chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and with His stripes we are
healed." Before the heavenly universe the Lord of Glory suffered in human form
that sin might be pardoned, and sinners redeemed. He died that the love of God,
as a mighty helper, might flow to all suffering human beings.
Through yielding to sin, man placed
his will under the control of Satan. He became a helpless captive in the
tempter's power. God sent His Son into our world to break the power of Satan,
and to emancipate the will of man. He sent Him to proclaim liberty to the
captives, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free. By
pouring the whole treasury of heaven into this world, by giving us in Christ
all heaven, God has purchased the will, the affections, the mind, the soul, of
every human being. When man places himself under the control of God, the will
becomes firm and strong to do right, the heart is cleansed from selfishness and
filled with Christ-like love. The mind yields to the authority of the law of
love, and every thought is brought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.
The powers, hitherto "members of unrighteousness," and "servants of sin," are
consecrated to the service of the God of love.
That this redemption might be ours,
God withheld not even the sacrifice of Himself. He gave Himself in His Son. The
Father suffered with Christ in all His humiliation and agony. He suffered as He
saw the Son of His love despised and rejected by those whom He came to elevate,
ennoble, and save. He saw Him hanging upon the cross, mocked and jeered by the
passers-by, and He hid as it were His face from Him. He saw Christ bearing the
sin of the world, and dying in the sinner's stead. The human heart knows the
love of a parent for his child. We know what a mother's love will do and suffer
for her beloved one. But never can the heart of man fathom the depths of God's
self-sacrifice.
O, the cross, the cross! It is set up
that we may know the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom He has sent. Only the
cross can measure the length and breadth, the depth and height, of infinite
love, the greatness of the Father's sacrifice for lost humanity.
And the Lord Jehovah did not deem the
plan of salvation complete while invested only with His own love. By His
appointment He has placed at His altar an Advocate clothed with our nature. As
our Intercessor, Christ's office-work is to introduce us to God as His sons and
daughters.
Christ has pledged Himself to be our
substitute and surety, and He neglects no one. There is an inexhaustible fund
of perfect obedience accruing from His obedience. In heaven His merits, His
self-denial and self-sacrifice, are treasured as incense to be offered up with
the prayers of His people. As the sinner's sincere, humble prayers ascend to
the throne of God, Christ mingles with them the merits of His own life of
perfect obedience. Our prayers are made fragrant by this incense. Christ has
pledged Himself to intercede in our behalf, and the Father always hears His
Son.
This is the mystery of godliness.
That Christ should take human nature, and by a life of humiliation elevate man
in the scale of moral worth with God; that He should carry His adopted nature
to the throne of God, and there present His children to the Father, to have
conferred upon them an honour exceeding that conferred upon the angels,--this
is the marvel of the heavenly universe, the mystery into which angels desire to
look. This is love that melts the sinner's heart.
And God has manifested His love in
ministry. In Him all unselfish ministry has its origin. Our Father in heaven is
constantly engaged in upholding the things which He has created. Every leaf
grows, every flower blooms, every fruit develops, by the power of God. In Him
"we live, and move, and have our being." Each heart-beat, each breath, is the
inspiration of Him who breathed into the nostrils of Adam the breath of
life,--the inspiration of the ever-present God, the great I AM. The great and
infinite God lives not unto Himself, but for the benefit and blessing of every
being and every object of His creation.
Satan's principle is self-serving.
This principle he attributed to God, misrepresenting His character to the
world. And he led man to accept the principle of selfishness. He caused him to
believe that in serving himself he would find happiness. By the Son of God this
principle was to be demonstrated as false. By Him the Father was to be rightly
represented. The ideal of true ministry God committed to His Son, and bade Him
work it out in humanity.
That His people might not be misled
by the selfishness which dwells in the natural heart, and which strengthens by
self-serving, Christ Himself set an example of true service. His whole life on
earth was spent in ministering to others.
In all the afflictions of humanity He
was afflicted. He saw the work of Satan revealed in all their woe, and He made
every case of need and sorrow His own. With a power that never quailed, He cast
out the evil spirits that possessed both mind and body. The power of love was
in all His healing, and of the suffering multitudes that were brought to Him,
it was said, "He healed them all."
The Saviour saw a still greater need
than bodily suffering. He saw symptoms of a deeper illness. The sufferings of
the body excited His pity, but He was moved to still greater pity by the need
of the soul.
With a love that never faltered,
Christ spoke to men the words of eternal life. The word of God, which the
teachers of Israel had obscured with their traditions and man-made
commandments, Christ opened to the people in its purity and divine beauty. Men
marvelled at His teaching, and said, "Never man spake like this man." To the
weary and sin-burdened He said, "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy
laden, and I will give you rest." He invited them, "Take my yoke upon you, and
learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart; and ye shall find rest unto your
souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."
Before men and angels, by His life of
obedience and ministry, Christ represented the character of God. "God was in
Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself."
Published in The [Australasian]
Union Conference Record, June 1, 1900.
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|  God's
Word Our Assurance
Christ
Our Righteousness A Morning Talk
Through
Faith Alone Part 1
Through
Faith Alone Part 2
What
Was Secured by the Death of Christ
Seek
Those Things Which are Above Part 1
Seek
Those Things Which are Above Part 2
Christ,
Our Loving Comforter and Restorer
Work
to Show Christ to the World
"Let
Him Take Hold of My Strength"
Ellen
G. White's Last Recorded Letter
The
Joy of Giving
A
New Year's Day Letter
Christ
Our Hope
A
Letter of Comfort and Assurance
Prevailing
Prayer
A
Prayer of Consecration
Help
for the Tempted
God
Will Provide
Christ's
Righteousness Avails
Trusting
Christ
The
Fair Flowers of Promise
How
God’s Love is Manifested, Part 1
How
God’s Love is Manifested, Part 2
"Ye
are Complete in Him," Part 1
"Ye
are Complete in Him," Part 2
"Ye
are Complete in Him," Part 3
"I
Will Give You Rest"
Working
as Christ Worked
A
Life-Changing Experience
The
Character of God Revealed in Christ
What
God Desires Us to Be
God's
Plans the Best
A
Peculiar People
God
With Us
Ask
and it shall be given you, Part 1
Ask
and it shall be given you, Part 2
The
Meaning of God's Pardoning Love, Part 1
The
Meaning of God's Pardoning Love, Part 2
The
Foundation of Our Peace
One
Thing Impossible With God
Windows
Wide Open
The
Only Foundation
Christ
Spans the Gulf of Sin, Part 1
Christ
Spans the Gulf of Sin, Part 2
Homeward
Bound
A
New Year's Day Letter
Asking
to Give
The
Mighty and Inspiring Conflict
God's
Word a Treasure House
True
Success
Little
Things
You May Trust
Him
Hearts
Filled with Thankfullnes to God
Calamities
and God’s Love; Sin, Judgment, and the Shortness of Time
Lord
is Risen
The
Sabbath
Some Thoughts
for the New Year
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