“…and the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.” Galatians 2:20
It has been said of the Apostle Paul that he was the greatest Christian of all time, not because of gifts or calling, but because of the revelation, expression, and demonstration of Christ’s life in him. Like John the Baptist, of whom the Lord Jesus declared: “…among those born of women there has not risen one greater than John the Baptist,” and this most certainly because of the anointing, and fulness of the Spirit revealed in and through him, so the Apostle Paul was greatly, and consistently filled with the Spirit of God. And yet, in that greatness, along with the gifts that God had given him, and his extensive calling, there was one thing Paul never could grasp fully, and yet it dominated his life. It was the personal love that the Lord Jesus had for him, and his knowledge of that love.
In writing to the believers in Galatia, Paul would write of his testimony in Christ, by saying, “I have been crucified with Christ; it is not longer I who live but Christ who lives in me.” He would go on to say that his present life in the flesh was characterized by faith in Christ, even the faith of Christ. But then, he would add a very simple phrase which reveals something of the object of his pursuit, something that had changed him in the past, and held him firm in the present, with great hope for the future. It was the revelation of Christ’s love for him, a love that he knew, experienced, and came to rely upon, trust in, completely. It was a love that had laid hold upon him, saved him from his sin and death, raised him to newness of life in Christ by the Spirit. But it was also a love which would not let him go, nor from which he could be separated. Paul had by the Spirit of God, tasted and seen that the Lord is good by the revelation of the love of God for him. That vision, that experience, that conviction according to the truth of God’s word, became the anchor of his soul, the rock upon which he rested and stood, the very life-giving stream of purpose, power, and provision in the service of his King. Paul would never be the same because of this knowledge, indeed, his pursuit was to know the power of the resurrection, in order to know this love of Christ, boundless and free. To be lost in the love of God is to be found face to face with the One, as Paul put it, “…who loved me, and gave Himself for me.” This is true Christianity, Christ, and the knowledge of the love of God, which softens the hardened heart, heals the wounded soul, and strengthens the strengthless legs and made to stand. This love of God in Christ, the greatest and highest means to know God, is at the same time, the great objective of every believer on the face of the earth. This is the great calling, to not only know this love, but to love in return. To love God is the highest blessing. By it there comes the knowledge of Christ, our eternal purpose, and the power to realize it.
It was Charles Wesley who wrote a hymn on this subject, called “Jesu, Love Of My Soul.” In that hymn, which is also a prayer, he declares: “Thou, O Christ, art all I want; More than all in Thee I find.” He then speaks of “plenteous grace” being found in this Lover of his soul, not only to cover all of his sins, but to heal in abundant measure, and to “…make and keep me pure within.” He concludes by praying: “Thou of life the fountain art, Freely let me take of Thee; Spring Thou up within my heart, Rise to all eternity.”
This is love’s expression.
Dear Father, Love through us today. In Jesus’ name, Amen.