Love Divine

The concept that GOD IS LOVE (1 John 4:8) is an important one for all Christians. The entire chapter of 1 John 4 seems to be a treatise on the love of the Father. A few months ago, in the Pre-Pandemic Era of our existence, the Sunday morning song leader at our church led us in singing an older hymn that we hadn't song in recent memory.

The hymn lyrics to Love Divine were originally penned by Charles Wesley in 1747. A few modernizing adjustments have been made in today's church hymnals, but the message remains one of adoration for God's love. As I sat singing the beautiful 4-part harmony of that composition, the second verse touched me deeply:

Love Divine (verse 2)

Breathe, O breathe Thy loving Spirit, into every troubled breast;

Let us all in Thee inherit; let us find the promised rest.

Take away the love of sinning. Take our load of guilt away.

End the work of Thy beginning, bring us to eternal day.

God's divine love doesn't just remove, cover, and forgive our sins; additionally it takes away the very love of sinning and removes our load of guilt. The love of sinning is what causes many to become addicts of the various "drugs of choice" available in our world. The load of guilt is what keeps addicts hooked in their addiction unable or unwilling to return to and rediscover that promised rest leading to an eternal day.

Photo by Ben White on Upsplash.com

Take some time today and everyday during this quarantine to approach God's throne of divine love with prayers for those battling to recover from addictions. In Romans 7:24-25 (MSG) the Apostle Paul described the war we all wage with sin and temptation...I've tried everything and nothing helps. I'm at the end of my rope. Is there no one who can do anything for me? Isn't that the real question? The answer, thank God, is that Jesus Christ can and does. He acted to set things right in this life of contradictions where I want to serve God with all my heart and mind, but am pulled by the influence of sin to do something totally different.