THE MEASURE OF OUR LOVE FOR CHRIST
W. Lamont
I would not think there is anyone here who has any doubt about the quality of the love of the Lord Jesus; its enduring character, as we sung,
‘Lord, on the throne Thy love’s the same
As once upon Thy cross of shame’ (Hymn 15)
No wonder the apostle Paul in writing could say, “to know the love of the Christ which surpasses knowledge”, Ephesians 3: 19. That is a paradox to the human mind—how can you know something that is beyond knowledge? It is spiritual language, the believer understands it. Like that old hymn,
‘But what to those who find? Ah! This
Nor tongue nor pen can show;
The love of Jesus, what it is,
None but His loved ones know’ (Hymn 279)
I trust that every one of us here tonight is in that character of being among His loved ones. How well He has proved His love! Each one of us here is evidence of that. So, on the throne His love is the same. It is a wonderful thing to live your life in the conscious sense of the greatness of that love.
But what I have in mind tonight is not exactly that; that is the background to it, because as John says in his epistle, “We love because he has first loved us”, 1 John 4: 19. My exercise for myself and all the saints is, What about our love? I find Luke 7 one of the greatest challenges in Scripture. The Lord is in the coldness and somewhat hostility of this Pharisee’s house, and here is this woman. The Pharisee seemed to know all about her, a woman in the city; it does not say who she was, there is speculation as to who she was, but scripture does not tell us. Just as scripture does not tell us who the woman in John 4 was, but there they were. Both the Lord and this woman were in this environment of hostility and the Lord knew more about her than Simon did. Sometimes, dear brethren, we think we know; but the Lord knows. In the addresses to the seven churches, in each one of them He says, “I know”. He knows all about us individually, knows all about us collectively, and there are persons who are in the secret of that knowledge. John got it in Revelation. Think of that; in Philadelphia the Lord says, “and shall know that I have loved thee”, Revelation 3: 9.
Well, here, “Her many sins are forgiven; for she loved much”. I would suggest, beloved brethren (I think of it often), the measure of our devotion to the Lord Jesus is absolutely proportionate to our love for Him. The more we love Him, the more we will be devoted to Him. It is one of the greatest tests of life. Many have failed in that, preferred their own way.
We will see the difference in the psalm when we come to it, but here the Lord says (how He would appreciate this in His own pathway of love, His footsteps of love), “Her many sins are forgiven”. He knew more about her than Simon did, but then He says, “for she loved much”.
Then the Lord adds, “but he to whom little is forgiven loves little”. My desire would be to continue in the conscious sense of this, beloved brethren, and would wish for us all, that we continue in the pathway as those who know how much we have been forgiven. It keeps us humble. It is good to think about that, how much we have been forgiven. There is more than that of course, as we will see, but “he to whom little is forgiven, loves little”.
Forgiveness was available there for Simon, but I do not think he loved at all, that man did not even love a little; he was at enmity to the One who was bringing in salvation. The grace of God appeared in this blessed Man, and Simon did not appreciate it one little bit. But, here is one who did, she loved much. The Lord says in the address to Sardis, in His promise to the overcomer, that He will, “confess his name before my Father and before his angels”, Revelation 3: 5. I wonder if the Lord would be able to say to the Father that he or she loved much. What commendation it would be, what a challenge it is to us. The Lord did not say here that He was going to die for her, which would be essential for the forgiveness of her sins, or that He was going to shed His precious blood for her, but puts it on the basis, “her many sins are forgiven; for she loved much”. That takes a lot of thought, but then the challenge is, “but he to whom little is forgiven loves little”.
I read the psalm because I can see a clear connection between our love for the Lord Jesus and our love for the assembly; that is what Jerusalem is typical of here. How much conflict in the history of the testimony and the history of the recovery there has been over the great truth of Christ and the assembly. Early in the twentieth century there was ministry as to the greatness of the assembly and salvation in the assembly (see J.T. Vol. 1, pp.108–255). It is a very important thing, and some who ought to have known better challenged it, and said, Why do you not speak about Christ, rather than speak about the assembly? The answer was (I love it), In making much of the assembly you are making much of Christ.
Well, here, by the rivers of Babylon, they were in captive conditions. They were inactive; they sat down, and they wept when they remembered Zion—Think of the feelings of these people; think of the psalmist’s feelings. And he goes on to say, “If I forget thee, Jerusalem, let my right hand forget its skill”. Beloved brethren, the great truth of Christ and the assembly is largely unknown in Christendom. It was established early, in Acts, the Holy Spirit identifying himself with these few. The house was formed, and from that standpoint the gospel was preached. That links with what I was saying about that early ministry, how important it is, ‘The House of God and the Gospel’ (J. Taylor. Vol. 1). The enemy was enraged by it, and he did not use worldly persons to oppose it, he used persons who ought to have known better, and some of them gifted men. These are all warnings to us. He says, “If I forget thee, Jerusalem, let my right hand forget its skill”. I think, beloved brethren, this matter of love for the assembly is important; it is Christ-like; “Christ also loved the assembly, and has delivered himself up for it”, Ephesians 5: 25. I think that is the spirit that is seen in the psalmist here; he prefers it above his chief joy.
“If I do not remember thee, let my tongue cleave to my palate”. That is, he was prepared to be speechless, “if I prefer not Jerusalem above my chief joy”. One wonders sometimes, What is my chief joy? Where do I find my life? What things please me? Is there one thing above all else in this context—I prefer Jerusalem, that is the assembly. We must not forget that, how close it is, Christ and the assembly. Even Paul, at the height of his ministry writes, “to him be glory in the assembly in Christ Jesus”, Ephesians 3: 21. They are inseparable. May it be that we are persons who prefer the assembly above our chief joy, for His name’s sake.
Word in meeting for ministry, Grangemouth
8 July 2008