You know how it is, when you're having one of those days with your child or in our case, our teenager. In reading my devotional this morning, I came across this in "My Utmost for His Highest." Even after many years of using this particular devotional book, the Holy Spirit continues to use it to lovingly correct me. Oh how grateful I am for His correction.
If you don't have this book, here is a copy of today's devotional for your edification and enjoyment.
Spontaneous Love
Love suffers long and is kind . . . - 1 Corinthians 13:4
Love is not premeditated— it is spontaneous; that is, it bursts forth in extraordinary ways. There is nothing of precise certainty in Paul’s description of love. We cannot predetermine our thoughts and actions by saying, "Now I will never think any evil thoughts, and I will believe everything that Jesus would have me to believe." No, the characteristic of love is spontaneity. We don’t deliberately set the statements of Jesus before us as our standard, but when His Spirit is having His way with us, we live according to His standard without even realizing it. And when we look back, we are amazed at how unconcerned we have been over our emotions, which is the very evidence that real spontaneous love was there. The nature of everything involved in the life of God in us is only discerned when we have been through it and it is in our past.
The fountains from which love flows are in God, not in us. It is absurd to think that the love of God is naturally in our hearts, as a result of our own nature. His love is there only because it "has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit . . ." ( Romans 5:5 ).
If we try to prove to God how much we love Him, it is a sure sign that we really don’t love Him. The evidence of our love for Him is the absolute spontaneity of our love, which flows naturally from His nature within us. And when we look back, we will not be able to determine why we did certain things, but we can know that we did them according to the spontaneous nature of His love in us. The life of God exhibits itself in this spontaneous way because the fountains of His love are in the Holy Spirit.
graphic courtesy: www.heartlight.org
2 comments:
Thank you for sharing this devotional from Oswald Chambers.
Caught by the first sentence. It is a beauty!
"Love is not premeditated— it is spontaneous; that is, it bursts forth in extraordinary ways."
peace & grace in Christ
Thank you for your comments. I discovered My Utmost back in seminary. I remember in the early years of using this book, thinking, "surely Mr. Chambers doesn't mean this or that."
Over the years, I've discovered just how powerful this simple yet deep devotional book is.
blessings & peace through our Lord Jesus Christ!
Post a Comment