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The Law Of Love
Ask
anyone what they want most. Most will say "happiness."
Some will say "peace," others "freedom,"
still others "unity among mankind." We all want
to be happy, free and at peace. But are we willing to
meet the conditions of happiness, peace and unity?
There
are only two basic conditions of happiness. No true peace
or harmony is at all possible until we meet these conditions. 
If
two friends cannot agree, their friendship is in danger;
if a husband and wife will not agree, their marriage is
threatened, if a nation cannot agree among its citizens,
anarchy and riot will stalk the streets; and if some way
is not found to make nations agree, we face nuclear annihilation.
God says, "Can two walk together except they be agreed?"
(Amos 3:3) What are these conditions?
The
first is COMMON UNDERSTANDING. Understanding
is essential to agreement. Both parties must have access
to true and relevant knowledge. If I am not sure that
what you say is true, I cannot agree, unless I intend
to lie. Our generation has learned the art of manipulating
media, deliberately distorting truth, circulating utter
lies as facts for the purposes of ideological or political
advantage. No wonder ours is also a cynical generation.
People are hard-put to believe in anything. On top of
this, we have the added problems of language barriers,
communication failures and ignorance. But there is no
way around it. Despite these obstacles, if we cannot agree
on some basic things to be both true and valuable for
our world, we will have no long-term peace, unity, harmony
or lasting happiness.
The
second is COMMON UNSELFISHNESS. Knowledge is
not enough. We must also be willing to do that which we
honestly see as the best and wisest choice, or our education
will only make us more informed hypocrites. Our world
is generally known to be rather clever; we say we are
educated in many fields. Unfortunately, we are also probably
the most confused and frightened generation of all time.
This will not get better without solving the problem;
knowledge is not wisdom. Will we do what we know is right? That is the question. What practical difference
does it make if the person who murders you uses a flint
ax or an H-bomb? You will die nevertheless, whether it
is the savage or the scientist who does not love or care
for you. Technologically advanced nations do inhuman things
in wars. Every major thinker in history knew it; the problem
of selfishness must be eliminated to bring real harmony,
unity and peace to mankind.
Are
These Conditions Possible?
Two
essential conditions; put them in simple words and they
spell "wisdom" and "love." We must
have them to survive; are they possible? We must meet
them, or die; in an atomic age, disagreement is not only
unfortunate; it is the end of mankind.
But
take the first condition, how can any finite person agree
with another as to what is "true" or "valuable?"
How can we know? To be sure, you must see it all; can
you say with absolute certainty anything is true, until
you compare it with everything else? How can you be sure
of the particular unless you see first the universal?
Compare childhood values to an adult's; the East's to
the West's, the hip and the straight. It is a simple requirement
of survival. We all need a source of wisdom utterly trustworthy,
infinitely true, wholly dependable, always available,
universally accessible and understandable to all. Such
a source cannot be human. It demands a level of knowledge
and wisdom, of precision and justice beyond our imagining.
It cannot be finite.
And
the second condition: just as important; just as humanly
impossible. Not that we have not tried. Everyone from
Buddha to Marx had their ideas of eliminating selfishness,
from wiping out the individual ego to altering economic
conditions ( by wiping out groups.) Selfishness remains.
With one notable exception, all have lived to please themselves.
What would it mean to give up selfishness? Dr. Karl Menninger
said, "The willful disregard or sacrifice of the
welfare of others for the welfare or satisfaction of the
self is an essential quality of the concept SIN."
Augustine called it the "turning away from the universal
whole to the individual part", and pointed out that
since there is nothing greater than the whole, to devote
ourselves to something we say is greater makes us grow
smaller. And if we begin with selfish people, we will
always end with selfish societies, no matter what we call
ourselves, and despite how much we know.
A
source of love and wisdom; we cannot live without it.
And if we give up the fiction that men and women are lucky
accidents of chance, time and matter, we must come to
this conclusion; we were never meant to live life on our
own. We are made to need help and power, made to grow
forever, and never run out of wonder and joy. There is
such a Source in the universe. We have not been left to
find and forge our own way. There is an Infinite Love
and Absolute Wisdom available to all, capable of breaking
every language, racial and educational barrier, strong
enough to deliver anyone from the chains of selfishness
to a universal compassion. There is One; but only One.
That
is why our race needs God. That is why we must give our
lives to Him. There is no alternative; we must know Him,
find for ourselves His power and wisdom, or die. We were
not meant to live alone; we cannot survive without Him.
He is no respecter of persons; in every nation, he that
fears Him and works righteousness is accepted with Him.
(Acts, 10:34:35). Only He has the infinite wisdom capable
of revealing "true truth" to anyone with an
honest heart; only He can be trusted to reveal reality
to anyone without distortion or evasion. He has promised
to do so, if we who ask will only use this knowledge wisely.
(Luke 10:21-22; Deut., 29:9; Prov. 1:23; Is. 45:3; Matt,
18:3; John 12:36-40; 14:25-26; 16:13-15; Acts 28:24-28;
Rom 1:18-32)
This
is also why God has given us a Law. It is the single most
important law in the created universe. It is not a suggestion,
or advice; it is a command. It will be enforced with all
the infinite powers of heaven, because the whole happiness
of both heaven and earth depends on it. No one can afford
to break it with impunity, and no one who disregards or
spurns it will escape cosmic justice. God has taken steps
to make sure everyone knows of it, and is capable of obeying
it. And all the peace and harmony of the universe hangs
on it. We have called it the Law of Love.
It is the heart-property of every moral member of the
universe. And it is based on a value-system written into
the moral consciousness of the whole of our race.
The
Universal Concept Of Love
C.S.
Lewis points out, in his marvelous book, "Mere Christianity",
that we have all heard people quarreling, adults as well
as children. They say things like, "How'd you like
it if anyone did that to you?"; "Give me a bit
of your orange, I gave you a bit of mine"; "That's
not fair", etc. He says, "It looks, in fact,
very much as if both parties had in mind some kind of
Law or Rule of fair play or decent behavior or morality
or whatever you like to call it, about which they really
agreed." And they have!
All
men, everywhere, have basically agreed that selfishness
is wrong, no matter how they have defined it, in cases
that do not apply to them. People may be wrong about their
decisions as to what is selfish, but they do not change
that rule. It is something that the whole human race has
always known; they cannot get rid of it. And built right
in to the idea of rights and wrongs and choices is the
underlying idea of VALUE.
We
all know without really thinking about it, that anything
important must be worth choosing (when we have to choose)
above something else which is seen to be not as important.
The VALUE of the object IN ITSELF creates the reason for
us to choose it. All our choices in life are based on
this, a concept of value. Said shortly, the INTRINSIC
VALUE OBLIGATES. We give preference to what we see
as more valuable.
Now
in the earthly society, we attach value to people or things
that show properties like:
- Beauty: A sense of fitness, loveliness, worthwhileness, attractiveness
and form.
- Permanence: We like things to last; all the precious metals
and gems show this.
- Luminosity: We are fascinated with the interplay of light
and color in things.
- Uniqueness: Something that is only-one-of-a-kind, an original,
is worth more.
- Rarity: If something is scarce, uncommon, its worth usually
increases, like the one-penny Magenta stamp, the world's
rarest stamp, (and most expensive because of it).
These
are some of the major things we look for in what we call
"treasures" on earth. Think of something so
beautiful, utterly lovely, that it takes your breath away
to look at it, so that it creates a pain on the border
of love to death. Think of something of absolute radiance,
shining with unimaginable splendor and brightness; something
unchangeably so, only one-of-a-kind, absolutely uncommon.
Would we not consider such a treasure of immeasurable
value, worth everything to own?
Jesus
told His disciples many stories about His Kingdom. Two
important ones for our subject are found in Matthew
13:44-46. The first is about a man who found a
treasure hid in a field, who sold all he had to buy the
field; the second is about a merchant who sold all he
had to buy the one "pearl of great price." Why
did Jesus tell His disciples these stories? Whatever else
they mean, one thing is clear, it was the value of the things they found that led them to sell everything
they owned "with joy". One look convinced them
of the supreme importance of their find. Nothing else
in the world was worth as much to them from then on. If
they had passed these treasures by, they would have been
stupid; it was unthinkable to them not to give up the
lesser for the greater. The price to them was not important;
all that counted was the value of what they had discovered.
It was not hard for them to give up all.
Why
did Jesus give us this parable? The world is filled with
people who think God is selfish. Satan has always accused
Him as such to man. (Gen. 3:1-5) They think "If God
wants us to be unselfish, why does He command us to put
Him first? Isn't that selfish?" Is God's law arbitrary?
Does He just "make up" right and wrong at His
Own whim, and out of His Own will? Is all law, even Divine
law, ultimately invention? Shouldn't law be fixed, unalterable,
unchangeable? And how can God call Himself good, if He
just makes up what good is? What standard can we measure
His conduct by, if everything He does is by definition
right, because He does it? Could He not by this
definition, do all that Satan and sinners do, and be,
by definition, right and holy?
God
Is Not Selfish At All
When
we read the Bible carefully, we find a wonderful truth.
God is not selfish, and He never has been. He constantly
reveals to us His care, concern and goodness to people
who were not only running away from Him, but actually
His enemies. And in these Bible descriptions of God's
character we can see an amazing thing.
What
law could possibly apply to the uncreated God, who is
before all things and by whom all things hold together?
There cannot be a God behind God, a law greater than God,
a standard other than God. This would be to deny the Bible.
But there is a law nevertheless, a law that is distinct
from God's character, as eternal as He is, and yet not
separate from Him. It is the basis of all right, it is
the standard of value to which all beings in the universe
must conform, including the Judge of all the universe,
who Himself conforms to that law. It is that which gives
stability to His decisions, form to His judgments and
pronouncements, absolute virtue to His actions. This standard
is the greatest value in the universe, and beyond it.
It has all the qualities that we hold so dear in human
treasure; beauty, light, permanence, uniqueness, rarity.
It is eternal, changeless; indeed, it is the most fundamental
reality of all. It is God's own uncreated BEING,
distinct from His character, the one thing God Himself
did not make up or create or have any say over having.
And God's Being is the most valuable thing in
the universe.
We
were made to choose the valuable. God made us like that,
because He is like that, and we are made in His image.
He has always done what we must always do; choose that
which is the most lovely, the most important, the most
worthwhile. And this is the law of love. God Himself unselfishly
chooses the highest good of His own Being; not just because
it is His, but because it is the most valuable. He must;
He is obligated to; to choose anything less would be not
only unwise, but wrong. And so must we. We must do what
He always has done; put Him first, honor with our lives
the revealed ultimate loveliness in the universe, give
Him the glory for what He is. And this is what we have
chosen to call "The Law of Love."
When
God commands, "You shall love (unselfishly choose
the highest good) of the Lord your God . . . and love
your neighbor as yourself", He is saying simply this;
"I am valuable for My own sake. You do what I must
always do; put first what belongs first." (Matt.
22:34-40; Mk. 12:28-34; Luke 10:25-28; John 14:21) He
deserves first place.
The
Law Of Love
God
is the most lovely Person in the universe. His Being is
the Source of all life, the Power that upholds all of
Creation. Since everyone's happiness depends on it, God
has a responsibility to honor it. God must choose
His own highest good as the only wisest possible act.
He is obliged to rule Himself and His creation by informing
them of this for everyone's highest good. Just as we are
responsible to love and take care of our own beings, and
because we do this, are able to love and care for our
neighbors, God Himself loves and takes care of
His Being, and is responsible for His own highest good,
as well as ours.
Why,
then should we love God? Because He is the Altogether
Lovely. Why should all men and women choose to put God
first? Because He is the most valuable One in the universe.
And He is not selfish; He chooses only what He sees and
knows, in infinite wisdom to be the most valuable object
in the universe; the incomparable value of His own uncreated
Being, the foundation of all reality. He is not just important
because He says so, He actually is the most important
One there is! When the Bible calls Him good it means something.
God is good because He has always done what is best, and
always will. His law is founded in His Being,
not His will; it is not therefore arbitrary. His Being
is distinct from His will, and its infinite value obligates
His will; therefore God Himself has a law to keep. Love
is not just something He made up, invented. It is the
way of supreme intelligence, the way God chooses to live, and the way He asks us all to choose likewise.
A
Needed Message For Mankind
What,
then, is needed for men to give up their sin? A revelation
of the loveliness of the Bible God. What will induce a
man to forsake all and trust Him? A glimpse of His glory.
As the song says:
Turn
your eyes upon Jesus
Look full in His wonderful face
And the things of earth
Will grow strangely dim
In the light of His glory and grace
We
must learn that the motive for change cannot be bribe
or threat, but trust and love; and trust and love can
come only from an intelligent understanding of the nature
and character of the Bible God. What mankind needs is
a vision of Christ; what the Church needs is a God-centered,
God-honoring message, and the chief content of our preaching
must begin, center and end with God Himself.
It is the "goodness of God" that leads men to
repentance. (Rom 2:4) It is not just the "gospel"
we preach, but the gospel of the Kingdom of God that all
men must hear before His return. Is this, today, what
we are really proclaiming to mankind? (Ex. 33:18-19; 2
Chron. 6:41; Ps. 27:13; 31:19; 33:5; 65:11; 145:7; Jer.
31:12; Luke 2:14)
The
Universal Law Of Morality
The
love-law is eternal; it predates, includes and supersedes
all other laws ever given to man. It was the law in the
garden, the law Abraham knew, the law behind the law given
to Moses, the law on which hangs "all the law and
the prophets." This is the one fundamental law without
which we cannot enter the Kingdom. It applies to all beings
in earth and heaven, it is unlimited in its scope, eternal
in its application. It can never be abrogated, improved
on or reduced. It is the touchstone by which we can measure
all religious experience, all claims of spirituality.
Do we love God first? Do we put Him and His infinite value
first in all our daily acts and thoughts? Is He the star
of the show for us? If not, then all our claims of righteousness,
all our religious service are but dust and ashes. This
is the mark that marks the genuine follower of Jesus:
"Does he practically put Christ first?" Does
the Lord Jesus mean more to him than anything else in
the universe? And does he love those he can touch the
way he cares for his own life?" For this, and only
this is a Christian.
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1.1 ©1995, 1998 Winkie Pratney
Contact at Box 876 Lindale, TX 75771
