Skip to main content

THE GREATEST THING

The Greatest Thing
by Henry Drummond
Photo © 2013 Kelly Grace


Have you read this little Classic of the Faith?

I first found the little red copy in a Used Bookstore in York, England.  
Even then it was fragile, but after I brought it home to California and my home's central heating and AC, it came apart into three sections.



But, God is gracious and knew I needed to be able to read this book over and over.  
When my mother-in-law passed away I received her copy.  It's in mint condition and able to withstand frequent perusal.

The title comes from the subject matter, 1 Corinthians 13, the famous passage on love.    

In his discourse Drummond points out that all sin falls into two categories:  sins of the body and sins of disposition.  
Ouch!

Verse 4 says, Love suffers long and is kind.
Of this kindness Drummond observes, It includes perhaps more strictly, the self-restraint which refuses to make capital out of others' faults:  the charity which delights not in exposing the weakness of others, but "covers all things"; the sincerity of purpose which endeavors to see things as they are, and rejoices to find them better than suspicion feared or calumny denounced.

Every  day you and I have opportunities to love.  
I don't mean the warm fuzzy love we experience tucking our kids in bed.
I mean the real love of Christ.

The 1 Peter 2:21-23 Love.
For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps. 22 He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. 23 When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly.

How do you respond when you are treated badly?

We all experience it.

Drummond says, The world is not a playground; it's a schoolroom.  Life is not a holiday; it's an education.  And one eternal lesson for us all is how better we can love.

The test is coming.  
Maybe not today, but it is coming.  
Here is the first text to help you prepare.
2 Corinthians 3:18 
And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.

Make some time to just behold His glory.  
The Holy Spirit will do the rest. 



Comments

Popular posts from this blog

30,000 PROMISES

There are said to be thirty thousand promises made  to the child of God, but they are of no more value  to  us than statements in the newspaper if we  do  not  personally appropriate them. J. Oswald Sanders, Spiritual Maturity PROMISE #1 I came across this sentence about two weeks ago and it has resurfaced in my thoughts again and again.  Yesterday I calculated that if I found 4.5 promises every single day I could find all 30,000 if I lived to be 80 years old.   How many promises support our lives every single day?  I don't know the number, but wouldn't be surprised if it were in the hundreds. Promises that reveal God's: PERSON PLAN PRESENCE POWER PROVISION PURPOSES PROTECTION PATIENCE There are literally thousands of promises that reveal His NATURE, LOVE, GRACE, MERCY, and FORGIVENESS. We, His children by faith, are supported and graced by the promises God has given us. Every day I want to find as many promises as possible. 

You Know You're in Africa When. . .

You know you're in Africa when color is everywhere  and small children are carried in a sling on Mom's  back.  This cloth, used all over Africa,  is the original "hands free" device .    You know you're in Africa when the mother and baby goat are part of the checked luggage that rides on top of the bus.  Gary says he has never seen them held in with ropes , it may be a new traffic regulation.      You know you're in Africa when the local Record store is called Beautiful Jesus Music.  You know you're in Africa when the oncoming traffic has horns and knows how to use them.   You know you're in Africa when the goats eat the park bench. You know you're in Africa when  the ants make a hill taller than your car. And finally, you know you're in Africa when the clouds look like they've been created in Photo Shop. But they weren't:)

What God Can Do with Our Life Messes

High School Memories He has  made everything beautiful in its time.     Also, he has put eternity into man's heart, yet so that he cannot  find out what God has done from the beginning to the end.    Ecclesiastes 3:11 I happened to see this photo this morning on a friend's Facebook timeline.   That's me on the far right cheering on the JV football team. I made a mess of my life early on. Looking back at that photo and others from a yearbook I see so many missed opportunities. But, looking at my life now I see what God has done with the mess I made. I see how He was present in guiding and directing my path to Him. His light shining down into my darkness illuminating the way. The girl next to me once invited me to a youth camp.   Two days before the camp my cousins arrived for a visit and my Mom said I couldn't go. Would I have met God then and changed the course of my life? Well, we don't know the answers to questions like that, but I d