Dear Missionary Lady,
Greetings in the name of our loving God! I am confident that
He is caring for you, guiding you, and encouraging you each day. "We love
him, because he first loved us." Regarding our love for God, I was
recently thinking on this hymn.
"More love to Thee, O Christ,/ More love to Thee!/ Hear
Thou the prayer I make/ On bended knee;/ This is my earnest plea:/ More love, O
Christ, to Thee,/ More love to Thee,/ More love to Thee!
Once earthly joy I craved,/ Sought peace and rest;/ Now Thee
alone I seek,/ Give what is best;/ This all my prayer shall be:/ More love, O
Christ, to Thee,/ More love to Thee,/ More love to Thee!
Then shall my latest breath/ Whisper Thy praise;/ This be
the parting cry/ My heart shall raise:/ This still its prayer shall be:/ More
love, O Christ, to Thee,/ More love to Thee,/ More love to Thee!"
The words of this hymn are challenging and reflect earnest aspiration.
To sincerely desire to grow in love for God. To seek God above all pleasures
and in any life circumstance. To seek to grow in loving Him as long as we live.
May this hymn and its teaching truly reflect our hearts.
As I considered the hymn, I asked myself why love for Christ
is so important. Obviously, it makes sense after all that He has done for us.
It is the proper response toward a loving God who has rescued us and who treats
us infinitely better than we deserve.
My thoughts also went to II Corinthians 5:14. "For the
love of Christ constraineth us." Paul went on to say that the love of
Christ deeply affected his personal philosophy and the way he lived. Because of
Christ's love for him and his subsequent love for Christ, Paul was dedicated to
serving God. Paul was a new creature with a new mission. "And all things
are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given
to us the ministry of reconciliation" (v. 18). So Paul became an
ambassador of this reconciliation, trying to restore others to God.
If not for the fact that God loved us first, we would not be
capable of loving Him nor anyone else. But because He does love us, we can
love. As we grow in understanding His love for us, and as we grow in loving
Him, we are more motivated to love others, the main reflection of which is to
seek to bring them to reconciliation with God.
That is your mission! And it is possible and greatly
enhanced by your growing love for God. So may this song be your prayer, echoing
what I know is already in your heart - "More love to Thee, O Christ!"
May God encourage and strengthen you as you serve Him this
week, and may He give you increasing opportunities for the gospel.
Love in Christ,
Peggy Holt
member at Open Door Baptist Church in Lebanon, PA
www.pressingontohigherground.blogspot.com
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