The Character of Christ

Part One: Love

_____“God is love.” 1 John 4:8. What a true description of the God who “so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” John 3:16.
_____The Father and the Son are one, along with the Holy Spirit. So just as much as we say that God is love, we can say that Jesus is love. Many believe that God is a harsh, unmerciful judge and that they have to hide from Him behind the love and mercy of Jesus; but that is a lie of the devil. Jesus came to earth to save us from sin and its consequences; but He came for another reason, too. He came to glorify His Father’s character; to prove to all of God’s vast creation the simple, yet beautiful truth that God is love. He came to earth to remove the ugly covering that Satan had thrown over the beautiful character of our heavenly Father. On the night of His betrayal, Jesus told his disciples, “The Father Himself loveth you.” John 16:27.
_____The love that filled the heart of Christ was constantly being manifested in the words and actions of His life. His compassion and mercy, humility and meekness, unselfishness and endurance, all the beauties of His character, centered on His love for God and all created beings. The beloved disciple, in John 13:1, wrote of Jesus: “Having loved His own which were in the world, He loved them unto the end.” How unworthy are we of this infinite, everlasting love! “But God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8.
_____We are called, by God’s grace, to cultivate Christ’s character in our own hearts and lives; to be the “light of the world.” Matthew 5:14. This is our duty and privilege, the very purpose of our existence. The more we see of Christ’s beauty of character, the more we long for it. Our desire to glorify and represent our merciful God deepens each time we eat the bread of life and drink the living water found in the word of God. We want to draw others closer to the Saviour who spreads so much love and joy in our hearts. We simply cannot keep it to ourselves.
_____Jesus said, “As the Father hath loved Me, so have I loved you: continue ye in My love. If ye keep My commandments, ye shall abide in My love; even as I have kept My Father’s commandments, and abide in His love.” John 15:9-10. Jesus kept His Father’s commandments out of love and He wants us to do the same. He says, “If ye love Me, keep My commandments.” John 14:15. When He was asked which commandment was the greatest, He answered, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.” Matthew 22:37-40. God is love and His law is a transcript of His character. The government and law of the King of love centers around that one principle that brought Jesus to earth and to Calvary – love. As faithful subjects and ambassadors of that kingdom, we are to keep the law of love and prove ourselves faithful to the King of kings. Impossible? It would be, were it not for Christ’s sacrifice of love. But with God, ALL things are possible! Paul’s words from Philippians 4:13 still ring true today: “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.”
_____And faith has a part in this, too. The Bible says, “The just shall live by his faith.” Habakkuk 2:4. Ask God for faith! He will never fail to answer your earnest, persevering prayers, so long as you do not fail to keep coming to the throne of grace with your petitions. Ellen White put it this way, in Christ’s Object Lessons, page 175: “There is no danger that the Lord will neglect the prayers of His people. The danger is that in temptation and trial they will become discouraged, and fail to persevere in prayer.”
_____As “the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost,” it shines out of our hearts to all those that we come into contact with. This includes those who love us back, as well as those who show by their actions that they really don’t love us at all. The standard one is to reach in order to be lovable, is only to have that one’s soul paid for by the precious blood of Jesus Christ. Of course, this includes everybody!
_____Here are Jesus’ words concerning this subject: “Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbor, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them that despitefully use you, and persecute you; that ye may be called the children of your Father which is in heaven: for He maketh the sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sendeth rain on the just and the unjust. For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? Do not even the publicans the same? And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? Do not even the publicans so? Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.” Matthew 5:43-48. Paul says in Romans 12:17-21, “Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men. If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men. Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is Mine; I will repay, saith the Lord. Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head. Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.”
_____If you try to overcome evil with evil, there can only be one logical result: evil - more and more evil! Let us be over comers on the side of good, and heap coals of fire on their heads! The God of love is far more powerful than the prince of evil. Let us take courage! Let us love one another, as Christ has loved us.
Perhaps the best definition of true Christ-like love is found in 1 Corinthians 13. Let us remember that when we read the word “charity,” we are reading about love. Paul says, “Charity suffereth long and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.” Verses 4-7.
_____Let us strive for the victory over sin and self and Satan! Christ is the captain, and through Him we are more than conquerors! By God’s grace, let us be patient with each other and with Him who has been so patient with us. Let us be kind, guarding our hearts from envious feelings; humble and meek, and zealous for God’s glory, not our own. We need to ask God to take into captivity every thought and action to the obedience of Christ. (2 Corinthians 10:5). Giving God our iniquity, we can rejoice in the rays of truth that shine forth from the “Sun of righteousness”! (Malachi 4:2). By the grace of Jesus Christ, we can bear our trials and afflictions, believe the truth given us, hope in God’s unfailing promises, and endure the temptation our all-wise Father permits to come our way. “Charity never faileth…” 1 Corinthians 13:8. God will never fail us! We can love and trust Him wholeheartedly!
_____Let us cultivate the love of Christ in our hearts today – supreme love for God, selfless love for our fellow human beings, and zealous love for the truths of God’s word. When we let the love of God reign in our hearts, everything else will fall into place.
_____“That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; and to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God.” Ephesians 3:17-19.

God be with you all –
Sister G.