Editorial December 24, 1927 Issue

The Power of Divine Love

DUNCAN SINCLAIR

IF we were to consider all the wonderful spiritual qualities which made Christ Jesus what he was—what he is—to the world, few among us would say that his power to love was not the greatest of them all. Moral courage he had in great measure; steadfastness in abundance in his allegiance to Truth; humility surpassing that of all other men; might that has never been equaled—all these distinguished the Master; but greater in degree than any of these, and indeed inspiring them all, was his marvelous love for God and his fellow-man; for Jesus lived the two commandments he gave: love without measure to God, and love to our neighbor as to ourselves.

Such was our Saviour. It was prophetic of his lovableness and his capacity to love, that those—the Wisemen—who could read the sign of the star of Bethlehem, came to show their adoration as the babe of promise lay in the lowly manger. It was prophetic of his great mission of good will to all mankind that the angels should herald his birth in harmonious song, and the shepherds in their humility hear the message of the heavenly host, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men." It was appropriate that he who afterwards demonstrated such a marvelous understanding of God the Father, should be welcomed on earth in a manner which has appealed so universally to enlightened spiritual thought.

The fatherhood of God—His omnipresence, His eternal nature, His constant love—was the Master's theme. How intimate was his knowledge of God, who, as he put it in simple allegorical fashion, cares for the falling sparrow, numbers the hairs of the head, clothes the lilies of the field! Jesus used these similes to show God's interest in, and love for, all His creation. Moreover, he proved by many a healing that divine Love is always available to meet the needs of men. It was Jesus' understanding of the allness of divine Love that enabled him to heal all who came to him in distress. And it was no mere intellectual method of the so-called human mind he employed. It was his knowledge of God's creation, inspired by the love that drew the little children to him, that made the Bethany household to rejoice at his coming, that held the disciple band around him during those three momentous years of his ministry—it was that knowledge which enabled him to utilize the divine power in healing the sick.

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