Witness LOVE KNOWS NO END
How shall I give thee up, Ephraim? how shall I deliver thee, Israel? Hosea 11:8.
If you ever have any doubt about the love of our heavenly Father, look at Jesus, who came to reveal Him. You see Him riding on a donkey, down toward the gates of the city. He looks over the brow of the hill toward the city below, and, convulsed with sobs. He cries, "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem. How can I give you up?" When we catch a glimpse of the One who loved us so much, then we can begin to understand the pain and longing of the question "How can I give you up?" And our hearts are drawn out in love and service to those around us, to try to bring as many as possible of them to accept God's salvation.
As we look at those we love who are struggling, and realize the tremendous price that has been paid for them, if we really see it, then it makes no difference if they are easy to get along with, or difficult. It's like the two men who met in town one day. The first man had a son who had been into all kinds of trouble. And the second man said, "If that had been my son, I would have disowned him a long time ago."
And the first replied, "I would have too, if he had been your son. But not my son." You simply cannot walk away from those you love. There are many parents, teachers, relatives, and friends today who can identify with this truth.
Sometimes we say to people, You are responsible for someone, but they may not feel responsible at all. Sometimes we try to lay a heavy load upon people in terms of spreading the gospel. We say, Now you be surety for everyone in your block. You are responsible for this one or that one. If they are lost someday, their blood will be required of you. But this only makes people feel guilty when they don't get involved in the gospel work.
Once in a while someone asks, "How long do I have to pray for someone to be saved?" That is a foolish question. Love never asks it. Love continues to plead and to intercede because it can do nothing else, because it is unable to bear the thought of giving up on the one who is loved. Love does not know "it is enough."
How shall I give thee up, Ephraim? how shall I deliver thee, Israel? Hosea 11:8.
If you ever have any doubt about the love of our heavenly Father, look at Jesus, who came to reveal Him. You see Him riding on a donkey, down toward the gates of the city. He looks over the brow of the hill toward the city below, and, convulsed with sobs. He cries, "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem. How can I give you up?" When we catch a glimpse of the One who loved us so much, then we can begin to understand the pain and longing of the question "How can I give you up?" And our hearts are drawn out in love and service to those around us, to try to bring as many as possible of them to accept God's salvation.
As we look at those we love who are struggling, and realize the tremendous price that has been paid for them, if we really see it, then it makes no difference if they are easy to get along with, or difficult. It's like the two men who met in town one day. The first man had a son who had been into all kinds of trouble. And the second man said, "If that had been my son, I would have disowned him a long time ago."
And the first replied, "I would have too, if he had been your son. But not my son." You simply cannot walk away from those you love. There are many parents, teachers, relatives, and friends today who can identify with this truth.
Sometimes we say to people, You are responsible for someone, but they may not feel responsible at all. Sometimes we try to lay a heavy load upon people in terms of spreading the gospel. We say, Now you be surety for everyone in your block. You are responsible for this one or that one. If they are lost someday, their blood will be required of you. But this only makes people feel guilty when they don't get involved in the gospel work.
Once in a while someone asks, "How long do I have to pray for someone to be saved?" That is a foolish question. Love never asks it. Love continues to plead and to intercede because it can do nothing else, because it is unable to bear the thought of giving up on the one who is loved. Love does not know "it is enough."
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