LS-35-To Whom He Manifests His Love!

To Whom He Manifests His Love!

He that loveth Me shall be loved of My Father, and I will love him, and will manifest Myself unto him.--John 14:21.

We know that His love reaches out to all, and that it is not limited in any sense to those who love Him. But there is a certain quality of love that cannot be exercised except in a reciprocal way. There are certain attitudes of mind that we may will to cultivate, without respect to the conduct of other people. We may, for instance, be sympathetic to all who are in trouble, whether they receive it gratefully or otherwise. But we cannot exercise unlimited confidence in those who have proved themselves unworthy of trust-that is a quality that can be entertained only when we believe the object of our confidence to be trustworthy.

We may indeed love those who are unworthy of our love. People often do. We would not need to go very far among the mothers of our acquaintance to find a wonder of love far beyond what the object of that love deserves. Yet is it true that there is a quality of love that can be seen only in response to love. Thus it is that even God, who loved the world of sinners lost, can cherish a peculiar love for those who love Him. It is the love that is called forth by love. Not only so, but the Master says that to those who love Him He will manifest Himself. Is He partial then? Does He reserve the manifestations of His love and power for those only who love Him? Necessarily so. Spiritual things are always spiritually discerned. The pure in heart see God. The carnal, the gross, the unlovely, are excluded from that beatific vision because of a natural blindness. Sin clouds the organ of spiritual sight, and makes revelation impossible. "He that loveth Me," says Jesus, "I will love, and will manifest Myself unto him." That speaks of a condition of heart in the disciple that makes Him susceptible to Divine influences, and the Lord Jesus can commune with him and reveal Himself to him. A real experience is this as many a one can testify. The Christian heart becomes conscious of a Divine Companion. We lose much in our lives of service if we never know that experience. You have perhaps had this happen to you. You have mentioned a matter in conversation, and your friend has said, "I was just thinking of that very thing." Many a time that happens to people whose lives are a joyous communion. If such telepathic communication is possible among us, need we be surprised if the Divine Friend finds an avenue of self-revelation to hearts that are attuned to His?

Let us seek to open our hearts to Him now, that here, in this sacred moment of communion, He may manifest Himself to those who love Him.