GETTING THE MESSAGE/1st Peter 1:8

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Our text this week reads: "Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not see him now, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls."

The subject we are looking at is love to Christ. The life of Christianity consists greatly in our love to Christ. Without love to Christ, we are as much without spiritual life as a dead body when the soul has left. We may have a form of godliness, but will lack the power thereof.

"Give me your heart" is the language of God to all men who would know him. "Give me your love," is the directive of Christ to those who would be his disciples. He says, "Love me" above the world, above anybody or anything. This love produces the delights and joy Peter describes in Christians, as an "inexpressible" joy.

A Christian has great reason to love Christ. There is no other person like him, there is no other love like his love, and there are no benefits like the benefits Christ has given and will give to his people. He is incomparable to all, so as Christians we should be continually growing in our love to him. Our love to Christ grows as we consider who he is and what he came to do.

It is our duty to love him. We know it is our duty to love our spouse or children. We feel a duty to love our relatives or friends who love us. It is greater duty to love Christ who loves you above any other relation you might have. Christ is worthy of your best, and you have nothing greater than your heart that you can give to him.

It is your honor to love Christ. There is no greater and higher object of your love than Christ. We consider it a great honor to be connected to someone from our city, or state, or country that has performed nobly in a cause or achieved great things. However, the most honorable thing you can do is love he who is worthy of the greatest honor.

It is your wisdom to love Christ. None have such wisdom and understanding as those who have kept the commandment to love the Lord Jesus Christ. The fear of the Lord and love of the Lord are always together in wisdom. The most reasonable thing we can do is to be in awe of the Lord and to love him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together (Colossians 1).

There are the greatest and strongest arguments for men to love Christ, but often it is men of the highest learning and educational acumen who have no understanding of Christ. Thinking themselves wise, they have become fools. If you love Christ, you are far wiser than the greatest scholars are who have never known him.



The love of Christ is absolutely and indispensably necessary. You may be in a poor condition in this world, and yet have joy in the present and live eternally happy in another world if you love Christ. Put the opposite way, whatever your honors and friends, earthly delights and enjoyments, yet you are without hope and without God apart from love to Christ. He is the only way to God.

Consider how necessary for your spiritual health love to Christ is. The love of Christ is useful in prosperity so the heart doesn't rest on an abounding condition. If Christ doesn't have your heart, some other thing will. He, though he was rich, became poor for your sake.

The love of Christ is necessary in adversity to bear up the heart from sinking and being overwhelmed with the winds and waves of affliction. Faith combined with love will keep fears of evil tidings and hard times producing great despondency in the soul. Nothing can snatch you out of his hand.

The love of Christ is necessary to arm you against temptation. A fear of the Lord will help protect you from temptation, but there is no greater force to keep sin from prevailing over you than the strength of love to Christ. He has been gracious and full of steadfast love, despite your sin.

And finally, the love of Christ will make his yoke light and his commands easy. Love to Christ will promote within you a feeling of the privilege it is to serve him. If we lack zeal for the honor and glory of Christ's name, we need to stir up love for him. Love to Christ is the best action for this day.






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