October 27 Daily Devotional

Bible Reading

1 John 4:15–19

Devotional

There is no light on the planet except that which proceeds from the sun; and there is no true love to Jesus in the heart except that which comes from the Lord Jesus himself. It is from this overflowing fountain of the infinite love of God that all our love to God must spring.

This must ever be a great and certain truth, that we love him for no other reason than because he first loved us. Our love to him is the beautiful fruit of his love to us. Anyone may have cold admiration when studying the works of God, but the warmth of love can only be kindled in the heart by God’s Spirit.

What a great wonder it is that any such as we are should ever have been brought to love Jesus at all! How marvellous that when we had rebelled against him, he should, by a display of such amazing love, seek to draw us back. No! we would never have had a grain of love towards God unless it had first been sown in us by the sweet seed of his love to us.

Love, then, has for its parent the love of God poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit (Rom 5:5). But after it is thus born of God, it also needs to be nourished by God. Love is like an exotic flower—it is not a plant that flourishes naturally in human soil; it must be watered from above. Love to Jesus is a very delicate flower, and if it receives no nourishment except that which it draws from the rock of our hearts, it will soon wither. Just as love comes from heaven, so also must it feed on heavenly bread. It cannot exist in the wilderness unless it is fed by manna from on high. Our love must feed on his love. The very soul and life of our love to God is his love to us.

[June 11, morning]

Extracted from C. H. Spurgeon, Morning and Evening (public domain), language modernized by Larry E. Wilson.