ROM. v. 5.
“The love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy
Ghost which is given unto us.”
I. GOD’S love to man is poured out upon the heart, and
the consciousness of it, not the response I make to it—that
is a secondary thing—is what makes the Christian. The
love of God has been shed abroad. The difference between
a man who is a Christian and one who is not, is the differ-
ence between a man standing with his back to the sun and
the other with his face to the sunshine. A Christian is one
who trusts, and love will be the sure result of the trust.
II. The way by which this consciousness comes to us is
through the Holy Spirit The measure of our faith is the
measure of our possession of the Spirit of God. The
means by which the Spirit of God works on us, is Christian
truth. If we want a purer, brighter, gladder consciousness
of God’s love, don’t work yourself up to it, but look and
look and ever look to the great fact in which all that love
is expressed.
III. This love of God shed abroad in our hearts is a sure
foundation and the only foundation upon which we can
build any substantial hope for the future. The love that
died for me can never cease till it makes me perfect like
itself. God’s love will never fail me till it puts me rejoicing
into the heart of glory.
Alexander Maclaren, D.D.