THE LOVE OF CHRIST FOR YOUNG BELIEVERS
W. Schubert
I was thinking of the love of the Lord Jesus as He gives us an assurance in view of possibilities which are open to us. In His love He has provided everything for us. I am reminded of what our brother said in view of the younger brethren here—think of thy Creator in the days of thy youth. How wonderful that the Lord Jesus has taken you up in your younger days; what possibilities are open to you.
Think of the many who do not know anything about Christ, who live in an uncertain world, and what future they have, in fact, there is no future. But we have received an immovable kingdom; and what a work we can rest on; everything has been given to us. What grace! and what a work! Today we have been reminded of the greatness of the Saviour; and the value of His work in the eyes of God, a work which will keep its value eternally. It is not only that it took place, it took place for you. You are embraced in the thoughts of the love of God. He had you in mind before the foundation of the world, that is wonderful blessing. We can only worship. We can thank God that He took us up when we were young. He has great thoughts in mind for you, not that you should be great, but that you should make Christ great. That is for the time still remaining to you.
There are many persons in Scripture whom God took up in their younger days. We remember Joseph, he was seventeen, and shepherded the sheep of his father, and he was assured of the love of his father. He was distinguished by the coat of many colours, a sign of his father’s love, and he was young when he had it. We know that he is a type of Christ, but he is also an encouragement for younger brethren. We know that he went through suffering, what distinguished him became the reason for his suffering; so it can be with younger brethren. What distinguishes you is that you know the love of Christ; that can bring suffering on you.
So Joseph was taken up when he was young.
You can think of Joshua, it says of him—“Joshua the son of Nun, a young man, departed not from within the tent” (Exodus 33: 11); think of the possibilities for Joshua there, what he learned within the tent. Christianity is not only for older people, it is for young men and women, boys and girls. There only is freshness and life; the devil would offer you other things, but these lead to death and darkness.
How young Samuel was when he was taken up; and he stood faithful to God when other young men did not respect the sacrifices of Jehovah, it says of Samuel that he served Jehovah with a linen ephod; it was not by force, it was by love; he valued what he knew of God. We could bring in many other examples. Jeremiah was taken up as a young boy, he says, “I am a child”. Zechariah was a young man. We could go through the Scriptures and find many more.
I wish only to use it for the encouragement of the younger brethren that they may value these days in which we are. The Lord has provided everything so that we can go this way in freshness and joy, that we might enter into what He has opened up for us.
We cannot enjoy anything apart from the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is given where Christ is loved, as the Lord says—“If ye love me ... I will beg the Father, and he will give you another Comforter”, John 14: 15, 16. Everything we find here is on the foundation of love, that is something we can show when we are young. We have spoken before that doctrine is not enough, everything must be based on love. We have come into an area where we are loved beyond our understanding. Think of how Christ loves you. Paul says—“The Son of God, who has loved me and given himself for me”. Galatians 2: 20. Think of the love of God commended to us, in that we being still sinners, Christ has died for us, and this love is still towards us. We have spoken about the unchangeable God, and His love is unchangeable.
The Lord says that He will ask the Father, it is on the basis of “If ye love me”. Outside the area of love you cannot enjoy divine things. You can study, you can read the Scriptures or ministry, but if there is no love for Christ, it will only build up the religious man as we mentioned before as to the Pharisees. But “If ye love me, keep my commandments”, that is not burdensome. What the Lord said is “my commandments”. We come into an area where we find His rule of blessing. Features connected with the work of God in us are faith and obedience; the obedience of faith is what we find here. “And he will give you another Comforter, that he may be with you for ever”. These chapters present the time when the Lord was going into death; He was going to leave them; He must leave them, otherwise they and we could have no abiding link with Christ. But as He went, He provided everything that we may not suffer any loss; that we may have more. He says, “It is profitable for you that I go away” (John 16: 7), He must go this way—“and he will give you another Comforter, that he may be with you for ever”. When you have the Spirit you have come to a way which leads on into eternity, it is for time and eternity. The Spirit will convey to us eternal things even now, and it says, “the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive”. We thank God that we have received the Spirit, as those who are not of the world. We are in the world but not of the world. If we were of the world then we could not have the Spirit. Wonderful things have been provided for us and we know the Holy Spirit who makes them real to us.
Then you find something else in this section, the Lord’s longing to come to His own. He must go into death. He has been taken up into glory. He went above the heavens. But He expresses His longing to be with the saints; not only in the future but presently. He speaks in this chapter in different ways about His coming, but I was thinking in particular about the latter part of this chapter. He says—“I will not leave you orphans, I am coming to you”. That is the desire of the Lord. He says also, “Yet a little and the world sees me no longer; but ye see me”, that must refer to His resurrection. We know the forty days were not for the world, but for His loved ones. This is not limited to the forty days, it refers also to the time of the Spirit. Is that not wonderful to contemplate Christ? Have we not seen something of Him in the meetings we have had? Through the power of the Spirit we can see His glory. How manifold are His glories!
Then He says that He will manifest Himself—“and I will love him and will manifest myself to him”. This is the personal side. The Lord views the dispensation to the end. He would assure us of His love when difficult matters arise. He will manifest Himself. Here it is dependent on conditions. He says, “He that has my commandments and keeps them, he it is that loves me; but he that loves me shall be loved by my Father”. It is precious to have the consciousness of the love of the Father. It does not depend on a great number of people, it is an individual who can enjoy this. We thank God that we have something collective to enjoy, but if the personal side is not enjoyed what is collective will only be empty talk. What is collective will only be kept living by individual experience. Think of that, when you love Him you can manifest this love for Him by keeping His commandments. Then the love of the Father would be your gain, and the Lord will love you—“and I will love him and will manifest myself to him”. That is what should fill this time. What can be compared with this, dear brethren, to have some impression of His manifestation? That is what you can have for yourself wherever you are. It does not depend on your being in
a meeting, it could be there, but it refers to your individual experience. It is a wonderful promise, and then the Lord Jesus says, “If any one love me, he will keep my word”. In the history of the assembly in Revelation, we find those that keep His word. How the Lord values this. He would stir our hearts to prove this, to find it out. Let it not only be in Scripture, make this your own experience. He says—“And my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our abode with him”. What more can you have, dear brother, dear sister, than that divine Persons, the Father and the Son, come and make Their abode with you? That is what will mark eternity. God dwelling with men, but you can enjoy something of it now. What can this world offer you? Think of the enjoyment of such communion; think of the enjoyment of such nearness. Then you will reflect what you receive from God. In that sense we will be a testimony to men because God has made His abode with us. Reverently speaking, there may be a lack of dwellings for God now. Let us open our hearts to Him. We shall dwell in His presence in eternity, but He desires to have His abode with us now. That is the treasure for the present time, it is a matter of life, and a matter of love. There are divine affections there and we respond to them. It is not a matter of age but of love—“If ye love me”. Who could not love Him?
Address at Gothenburg, Sweden
2 August 1991
Edited and Published by J. Strachan, 59 Frederick Street, Dundee, DD3 9DE, Scotland Printed by Crystal Stationery, 22 Western Road, Billericay, Essex CM12 9DZ, (T) (0277) 650661