The Holy Spirit and The Reservoir of Love By D.L. Moody

We read that the fruit of the Spirit is love. God is love, Christ is love, and we should not be surprised to read about the love of the Spirit. What a blessed attribute is this. May I call it the dome of the temple of the graces. Better still, it is the crown of crowns worn by the Triune God. Human love is a natural emotion which flows forth towards the object of our affections. But Divine love is as high above human love as the heaven is above the earth. The natural man is of the earth, earthy, and however pure his love may be, it is weak and imperfect at best. But the love of God is perfect and entire, wanting nothing. It is as a mighty ocean in its greatness, dwelling with and flowing from the Eternal Spirit.

In Romans v, 5, we read: “And hope maketh not ashamed, because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given to us.” Now if we are co-workers with God, there is one thing we must possess, and that is love. A man may be a very successful lawyer and have no love for his clients, and yet get on very well. A man may be a very successful physician and have no love for his patients, and yet be a very good physician; a man may be a very successful merchant and have no love for his customers, and yet he may do a good business and succeed; but no man can be a co-worker with God without love. If our service is mere profession on our part, the quicker we renounce it the better. If a man takes up God’s work as he would take up any profession, the sooner he gets out of it the better.

We can not work for God without love. It is the only tree that can produce fruit on this sin-cursed earth, that is acceptable to God. If I have no love for God nor for my fellow man, then I can not work acceptably. I am like sounding brass and a tinkling cymbal. We are told that “the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost.” Now, if we have had that love shed abroad in our hearts, we are ready for God’s service; if we have not, we are not ready. It is so easy to reach a man when you love him; all barriers are broken down and swept away.

Paul when writing to Titus, second chapter and first verse, tells him to be sound in faith, in charity, and in patience. 

Now in this age, ever since I can remember, the Church has been very jealous about men being unsound in the faith. If a man becomes unsound in the faith, they draw their ecclesiastical sword and cut at him; but he may be ever so unsound in love, and they don’t say anything. He may be ever so defective in patience; he may be irritable and fretful all the time, but they never deal with him. Now the Bible teaches us, that we are not only to be sound in the faith, but in charity and in patience. 

I believe God can not use many of his servants, because they are full of irritability and impatience; they are fretting all the time, from morning until night. God can not use them; their mouths are sealed; they can not speak for Jesus Christ, and if they have not love, they can not work for God. I do not mean love for those that love me; it don’t take grace to do that; the rudest Hottentot in the world can do that; the greatest heathen that ever lived can do that; the vilest man that ever walked the earth can do that. It don’t take any grace at all. I did that before I ever became a Christian. Love begets love; hatred begets hatred. If I know a man loves me first, I know my love will be going out towards him. Suppose a man comes to me, saying, “Mr. Moody, a certain man told me to-day that he thought you were the meanest man living.” 

Well, if I didn’t have a good deal of the grace of God in my heart, then I know there would be hard feelings that would spring up in my heart against that man, and it would not be long before I would be talking against him. Hatred begets hatred. But suppose a man comes to me and says, “Mr. Moody, do you know that such a man that I met to-day says that he thinks a great deal of you?” and though I may never have heard of him, there would be love springing up in my heart. Love begets love; we all know that; but it takes the grace of God to love the man that lies about me, the man that slanders me, the man that is trying to tear down my character; it takes the grace of God to love that man. You may hate the sin he has committed; there is a difference between the sin and the sinner; you may hate the one with a perfect hatred, but you must love the sinner. I can not otherwise do him any good. Now you know the first impulse of a young convert is to love. Do you remember the day you were converted? Was not your heart full of sweet peace and love?

LEARNING TO DEAL WITH YOUR NOMINAL CHRISTIAN SPOUSE

When you are married to a nominal Christian, you have a duty to honour your marriage. Finding out he/she is nominal Christian does not mean you run away or becoming like him/her. It just means you have a bigger challenge than you bargain for and trust that God will with no doubt use this marriage to make you Holy. Take heart, it will be hard. There is no time for pity party of feed your ego. You are not going to reach your spouse or live the life God has in mind for you if you do not commit wholeheartedly and let Him walk you through it. One thing you will notice for sure is that nominal Christian tends to be miserable people because all they have is a little bit of religion. They tend to get frustrated, because nothing is working their ways and Satanic activities in their lives caused them not to have rest, so they are not at peace. Imagine someone like that bringing his life into yours? So, if you do not make the choice to walk in the Spirit, you are in for the ride of your life and by the time you get off this ride, you might find yourself way too far to come back.

One of the biggest mistake we make when we have a nominal spouse, a lot of us have a hard time accepting the fact. So we close our eyes and prefer to believe to some extend that our spouse is actually Christian. Satan loves this kind of attitude because where there is lack of discernment and wisdom it makes his job easier. The nominal spouse’s goal will always be to bring the other spouse to his level. If you are a man in this kind of relationship, giving the lead to your wife is a monumental mistake and I would not like to be in your shoes when you meet with God. You have to know as well, because your wife is not really a Christian, if you already have a strong willed woman in your hands, you taking the lead will no doubt, makes this relationship much harder. Yes, she will react violently, but aren’t you more afraid of God’s reaction in the way you respond to Him? If your thinking is not along that line, then your priorities are screwed up. Chose wisely and be prepared in your mind and heart that she will use everything in her power to get back at you which means you might suffer as she withhold sex, and the household care will suffer to some extend which also means your load will be heavier. Remember, you are dealing with a non Christian, hence the reaction. Your job as the leader of the house is to lead according to God’s leading. Get into the habit of not making decisions without talking to God, even the smallest ones. Daily find time to quiet your heart, to hear Him, even if it means using your lunch hour at work. Understand in your situation nothing is as innocent as it might look because Satan will disguise himself and get right in your day to day family’s activities. Set your eyes on Him at any cost and He will get you there. The rage and the retaliation that your spouse is feeling will have to subside at one point. God will be there in the midst of it all to sustain you if indeed you have chosen Him. The goal here is to make the marriage the best that it can be without leaving the path that God has for you. Don’t get yourself involved in too many things. You might think that getting involved with Church activities is a way of honouring God, but if your marriage is in danger especially if you have small kids, you need to concentrate and revise your priorities with God so that you can have more time to invest into being a spiritual leader for your wife and children.

Take time to acknowledge the pain she is experiencing, and make yourself available to her but never forget your role as a minister to her instead of trying to be a people pleaser. Making family time for devotion is your role to implement in your household. You need that more than any other households. Make no mistake she will fight you and even when you implement it, she will sabotage it intentionally. Don’t give up, keep the appointed time for devotion on your own and make sure she knows she is welcome to join you anytime. Not only Satan will be behind her actions but she has learned to live without God’s Word in her life because she does not like anything that is too heavenly minded. Then, you will notice your nominal Christian’s spouse care much more about personal opinions that comes from nominal or liberal Christians rather than the Word of God. So, the devotion time should be with the Bible. Never mind other devotion books. What your spouse is allergic to is actually the Word of God. Make time to decipher His Word one verse at the time, hear her out, find out what the verse means in her life and how it can be applied to your marriage and your walk together with God. This will allow you to minister to her on a daily basis.

It is extremely important that you go to God and let off steam if need be so that your spouse do not get the brunt of it. But, like David once you let off steam, you go right back to God almost in the same breath acknowledging your need for Him and the willingness to be a man after His heart. Step up in your role. Being with someone who does not challenge you spiritually can be annoying and somewhat isolating. Have a few spiritually mature Christian’s friends that you can count on. While your maturity might not be there yet, cultivate a close with Him and you will be rewarded.

The suggestions that I made, do not mean for you to act superior, but know for certain you are not in an equally yoke relationship. While the Bible clearly teaches us how to lead but there is an assumption that we are equally yoked. So, staying connected to the Holy Spirit at all times will be the only thing to counteract the satanic activities around your wife. As you stay close, you will find that He will constantly teach you the best course of action moment by moment.

The moral of the story is that this marriage will be your own little wilderness that God will lead you to maturity and holiness through brokenness. That is if you respond according to His promptings and desires for your life. I know from personal experience an unequally yoke relationship demands that we are alert when the other one is talking to us. We should never take it for granted that they mean well. This does not mean you spend more time looking for Satan at every corner, but it certainly means that you put your life, the whole thing with no reservation in the Holy Spirit’s hand to cover you. After few years of pain and suffering, you will realize in the midst of it all, God will bring you to a place of peace and rest in Him.

In His Love & Service, 

M. J. Andre

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