On Pure Love
By Francois Fenelon
February 4, 2010
["Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure." 1 John 3:1-3
"'Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?' Jesus said to him, '"You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind." This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.'" Matthew 22:36-40]
The Lord hath made all things for Himself (Prov. 16:4), says the Scripture; everything belongs to Him, and He will never release His right to anything. Free and intelligent creatures are His as much as those which are otherwise. He refers every unintelligent thing totally and absolutely to Himself, and He desires that his intelligent creatures should voluntarily make the same disposition of themselves.
It is true that He desires our happiness, but that is neither the chief end [goal] of His work, nor an end to be compared with that of His glory. It is for his glory only that He wills our happiness; the latter is a subordinate consideration, which He refers to the final and essential end of His glory.
That we may enter into His designs in this respect, we must prefer God before ourselves, and endeavor to will our own happiness for His glory; in any other case, we invert the order of things. And we must not desire His glory on account of our own salvation, but, on the other hand, the desire for His glory should impel us to seek our own happiness as a thing which He has been pleased to make a part of His glory. It is true that all holy souls are not [yet] capable of exercising this explicit preference for God over themselves, but there must at least be an implicit preference; the former, which is more perfect [ideal], is reserved for those whom God has endowed with light and strength to prefer Him to themselves, to such a degree as to desire their own happiness simply because it adds to His glory.
Men have a great repugnance to this truth, and consider it to be a very hard saying, because they are lovers of self from self-interest. They understand, in a general and superficial way, that they must love God more than all His creatures, but they have no conception of loving God more than themselves, and loving themselves only for Him. They can utter these great words without difficulty, because they do not enter into their meaning, but they shudder when it is explained to them, that God and His glory are to be preferred before ourselves and everything else to such a degree that we must love His glory more than our own happiness, and must refer the latter to the former, as a subordinate means to an end.
[ The Lord Jesus declared, "For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it." Matt. 16:35
And Paul summed up our purpose this way: "For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen."]
from Christian Counsel on Divers Matters Pertaining to the Inner Life, part 3, by Francois Fenelon (1651-1717) published in Spiritual Progress, archived at www.ccel.org. [Bracketed Scripture added - NKJV]
News
Please for GFI's board member, Basil Jackson, as he has been in Haiti as a doctor and interpreter. A news report on his ministry there was posted on the internet after being broadcast:
"Treating Haitian kids' psychological trauma
Jan. 25: Basil Jackson, a 78-year-old psychologist from Milwaukee, put his life on hold to tend to Haiti's most vulnerable earthquake victims – nursing not just the physical, but also the psychological wounds. NBC's Mara Schiavocampo reports:"
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032619/vp/35068027#35068027
The next Exchanged Life Conference by Grace Fellowship International is scheduled for Friday night and Saturday, March 5,6, 2010. It will be hosted by the United Methodist Church in Pigeon Forge, TN. (The church is located on the Parkway between lights 6 & 7). This event will be followed by the Counseling Workshop (March 8-10) and the "the Solomon School" (March 11-13). Pre-register online or by mail and receive a $5.00 discount http://web.mac.com/jbwoodward/Site/Registration.htmlFor further details, visitwww.gracefellowshipintl.com or phone GFI toll free: 1-888-66GRACE. Come and join us for these special opportunities for growth, equipping, and fellowship.
Please pray for Chuck and Sue Solomon as they are visit friends in California Feb. 1-12.
A Feb. 4, '10 blog entry is at http://gfiprayer.christianblogsites.com/blog/
John and Linda plan to be in South Carolina this weekend for his sister Debbie's wedding. Claude and Debbie's announcement is at http://www.mywedding.com/claudeanddebbie/index.html
The purpose of Grace Notes is to highlight the dynamics of abundant living as summarized in Galatians 2:20: "I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me" (NKJV). Many articles are available online to freely use for personal ministry, newsletters, etc.. (To find an article by topic or key word, click "Grace Notes"/search.) Please pray for God's blessing on this internet ministry.
Grace Fellowship is an international discipleship, counseling, and training training ministry. (GFI does not charge fees for counseling, but is supported through tax deductible contributions. In Canada, through Crossways to Life, 79 Weber St. E. Kitchener, ON. N2H 1C6
Phone: 519-696-2500 http://www.CrossWaystoLife.org.) To request resources or inquire about hosting a conference, please contact us: john@gracenotebook.com.
Grace Notes editor - Dr. John Woodward
from Grace Fellowship International
President of GFI - Dr. Charles Solomon,
P.O. Box 368, Pigeon Forge, TN 37868 USA.
Phone: 865-429-0450 Fax: 865-429-0144
Home page: http://www.GraceFellowshipIntl.com
Home study: http://www.GFICounselingInstitute.com
Online video and audio: http://www.GFImultimedia.com
Online video channel: http://www.YouTube.com/gracefellowshipintl
Multi-language books & tracts: http://www.SolomonPublications.org
"Man as Spirit, Soul, and Body": http://www.BiblicalPsychology.net
Praise & prayer news: http://gfipraiseandprayer.blogspot.com
Children's Ministry: http://www.CarawaySt.com
GFI Bookstore: GFI site and 1-888-66GRACE (toll free in USA)
Online giving: http://www.gracefellowshipintl.com/ Home / Give
Subscribe ...
Subscribe to receive Grace Notes for free!
You may also wish to read ....
Next article by date ...
Victory Out of Ashes by Bob Burney
Other articles belonging to these series ...
Classics Series
View Comments
Add Comment