Love to the Uttermost | Page 6

God in the soul. It is the transmitting through our
lives of that which we have received in fellowship with the uncreated
glory of the Divine Being. That which was in the beginning between
the Father and the Son; that which constrained our Emmanuel to
sojourn in this world of sin; that which inspired His sacrifice; that
which dwells perennially in His heart, vanquishing time and distance;
which overflows all expressions, and defies definition--is the love of
which these words speak, and which we are commanded to entertain
toward each other.
It is a commandment: "These things I command you." "This is His
commandment: that we should believe in the name of His Son Jesus
Christ, and love one another even as He gave us commandment."
Obviously, then, obedience must be possible. Christ had gauged our
nature not only as Creator, but by personal experience. He knew what
was in man. The possibilities of our nature were well within His
cognizance; therefore it must be possible for us to love one another
qualitatively, if not quantitatively, as He has loved us. Do not sit down
before this great command and say it is impossible; that were to throw
discredit on Him who spake it. Dare to believe that no word of His is
vain. He descries eminences of attainment which it is possible for us all
to reach: let us surrender ourselves to Him, that He should fulfill in us
His ideal, and make us experts in the science of love.
It is a new commandment.--Archbishop Ussher on a memorable
occasion called it the eleventh. It is recorded that having heard of the
simplicity and beauty of the ordering of Rutherford's home, he resolved
to visit it for himself. One Saturday night he arrived alone at the Manse,
and asked for entertainment over the next day. A simple but hearty
welcome was accorded him; and after partaking of the frugal fare, he
was invited to join the household in religious exercises which ushered
in the Lord's day.
"How many commandments are there?" the master asked his guest,

wholly unaware who he was.
"Eleven," was the astonishing reply; at which the very servants were
scandalized, regarding the newcomer as a prodigy of ignorance. But the
man of God perceived the rare light of character and insight which
gleamed beneath the answer, and asked for a private interview. This
issued in the invitation to preach on the following day. To the
amazement of the household, so scandalized on the previous night, the
stranger appeared in the master's pulpit, and announced the words on
which we are meditating as his text, adding, "This may be described as
the eleventh commandment."
Obedience to this fulfills the rest.--Love is the fulfilling of the law. Do
we need to be told to have no other gods but God, to forbear taking His
name in vain, and to devote one day in seven to the cultivation of a
closer relationship with Him, if we love Him with all our soul and mind
and strength? Do we need to be warned against killing our neighbor,
stealing his goods, or bearing false witness against his character, if we
love him as ourselves? Only let a man be filled with this divine
disposition which is the unique characteristic of God; let him be filled
with the spirit of love; let him be perfected in love, and, almost
unconsciously, he will not only be kept from infringing the prohibitions
of the law of Sinai, but will be inspired to fulfill the requirements of the
Mount of Beatitudes. Love, and do as you like. You will like to do only
what God would like you to do.
There is a very important purpose to be realized in obeying this
command.--"By this shall all men know that ye are My disciples, if ye
have love one to another." Every Church claims to be the true
representative of Christ. The Eastern, because it occupies the lands
where Christianity was cradled. The Roman Catholic, because it
professes to be able to trace its orders to the apostles. But, amid the
hubbub of rival claims, the world, unconvinced, still awaits the
emergence of the true Bride of the Lamb. The one note of the true
Church is Love. When once men of different nationalities and countries
behold its manifestation, they do not hesitate to acknowledge the
presence of God, and to admit that those who are animated by perfect

love to Him and to one another constitute a unique organization, which
cannot have originated in the will or intellect of man, but, like the New
Jerusalem, must have come out of heaven from God. So sublime, so
transcendent, so unearthly is love, that its presence is significant of the
handiwork of God, as the fire that burned in