The Gift and Objects of God's Love

Thomas Charles, 1838

A discovery and a belief of God's love to us, when sinners, rebels and traitors—can only produce love in our hearts to him. But the belief in this love of God to us in all its freeness, fullness, immensity, and eternity—works by love to him with invincible strength, and with unwearied diligence in God's service. And as the effect is always proportioned to its cause—so the clearer our comprehension of, and the more firm our belief in God's love towards us—the more ardent will be our love to him, and the more active our diligence in his service. Here is the mystery as well as the difficulty of the faith that works by love; for mysterious indeed it is to all but those who thus live, and even they know but little of it.

Nothing can conduce more to strengthen our faith in the free love of God, than an enlarged knowledge of the dignity and the glory of the person of Christ—for by this we know the love of God, in that he gave his Son to die for us. The greatness of the gift which love has bestowed, proves the greatness of the love itself; and as we increase in the knowledge of the gift—so also shall we grow in the knowledge of the love that bestowed it. "So God loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son." If you would know his love—then consider his gift; for his love is as great as his gift.

And it will heighten both, if we consider the objects of this love, on whom this gift was bestowed—a world of sinners—yet in their sins, and in the very height of their enmity against God.

Let us then "behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed upon us", by viewing attentively the objects and the gift of his love. O! the height and depth of that love that comprehends two such extremes! What can be conceived more distant from, or more unsuitable to, each other! But behold, divine love brings them both together, and gives the Son of God to man in the extreme of his guilt and misery. Here is love, free and great indeed! The Son of God—who can conceive his dignity and glory! yet so great is God's love. Sinful man—who can comprehend the guilt, baseness, and deformity he has brought upon himself, and also the dishonor he has brought upon God by sinning! yet so deep is God's love. What shall we say to these things, but believe and adore them, and in dust and ashes, with overwhelming gratitude confess, 'so would God have it'.

And what effect will the belief of this love of God as manifested in Christ, have upon our souls? The Apostle in the following words tells us, "we all beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory"! What this glass is, he tells us a little afterwards, "God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, has shined into our hearts, to give the knowledge of the glory of God in the faith of Jesus Christ". Christ in his person and office is the glass which represents with such transforming efficacy the glory of God to us; and when we see his glory in this glass, we are transformed into the same image.

In this glass the scattered rays of divine goodness and love are, as it were, brought into a focus; they shine, they burn, and inflame the heart held before it. Conviction overpowers unbelief, goodness overcomes unworthiness, and love subdues enmity. When in this glass we behold the divine glory, we are efficaciously changed into the same image. That love, that goodness, that mercy and condescension which we see so gloriously manifested in Christ—produce, when viewed in him by faith, corresponding effects upon the believer. He loves God and man, does good, shows mercy, and walks humbly. He is cast into the mold of these divine truths, and is formed and fashioned according to them.

The freeness and greatness of God's love to him when an enemy—sweetly constrains him to love his enemies, to do good to the unworthy, to be in his own eyes less than the least, and to be in reality the servant of all. As Christ is the only glass which thus efficaciously represents to us the glory of God's love, mercy, and condescension, so also in proportion as we view them in this glass, is their transforming efficacy on the soul.

Hence then we see the necessity of making Christ our "all in all". Would we then be holy, be changed into the divine image—would we love God, man, show mercy, do good, forgive enemies—then we must turn our eyes to this glass, and therein view the divine image, and the effect will be infallibly produced.

In proportion to the clearness and steadiness with which we view and believe God's free love, grace and mercy in Christ—so also will be the degree of that change into the divine image produced upon the soul. And consequently a defect here as to the cause, will also produce a proportionable defect as to the consequence. Divine truths must be seen in the light of God's Spirit, as they are revealed in holy Scriptures, without anything added to them, to cloud their luster and glory, or taken from them, to diminish their excellency. But our souls must view them by faith, just as they are in the divine light, or they will greatly lose their efficacy, and have little or no effect upon the soul.

If a believer looks within and examines narrowly, he cannot but find daily this truth abundantly proved to him, that is, that as he believes in God's love, grace and mercy to him a guilty and depraved sinner—so do all the graces of the Spirit grow and thrive, or decay and wither. May the Lord keep the eye of faith strong, and give us divine light—to look, with more open face, and with more steadiness on the face of Christ—the glass in which the divine image is to be seen and viewed by us sinners!