Faith of Our Fathers

New Zealand Tablet, Volume L, Issue 29, 26 July 1923, Page 41

Faith of Our Fathers

[A Weekly Instruction foe Young and Old.] ' OF THE INEFFABLE GOODNESS AND LOVE OF GOD TOWARDS MAN AND OUR DUTY IN GRATITUDE TO KEEP HIS COMMANDMENTS. 3. The Height of the Love of God. Q. s.What is meant by the height of the love of God? A. By this is understood the inconceivable excellency and. sublimity of those supernatural effects of His love, which He bestows upon us in this world by His grace, and has prepared for us in the world to come, in His eternal glory; which are so far superior in value and dignity, to all . those goods which He bestows on. us in the' order of nature, that they will not admit of a comparison with them; and have this further advantage also over them, that whereas Almighty God in giving us all kinds <if natural goods, gives ns only the use of them, reserving to Himself the full power of taking them from us again when He pleases; He has, on the contrary, bound Himself by His sacred promise, that when once He bestows His supernatural goods on a sold, He will never deprive her of them again in this world, unless by her own fault in the abuse of her free will, she forfeits them and throws them from her, and in the world to come, when in possession of His eternal glory, He' will put her under the happy impossibility of ever having it in her power to forfeit it. Q- 6. M herein does the sublimity of these supernatural goods consist ? A. It consists in this; that by communicating His Divine grace to our souls. He gives us a new manner of existence a supernatural being—a spiritual dignity, by which we are exalted from the low condition of our native dust, and servile state, to the sublime and eminent dignity of being really and truly the intimate friends of God, yea. of being His adopted children—partaking, in a most admirable manner, of His Divine nature, and united to Him by the strictest ties of union. St. Peter, speaking of this effect .of Divine grace, says, “lie has given us great and pi scions promises, that by these you may be made partakers of the Divine nature" (2 Pet. i. 4). And the wise man says of it, that “it is a vapor of the power of God, and a certain pure emanation of the glory of the Almighty, and therefore no defiled thing can come near —that it is the brightness of eternal light . . and conveycth itself into holy souls, and maketh friends of God” (Wisd. vii. 25). Hence our blessed Saviour says, “1 will not now call you servants, for the servant knoweth not what his lord doth. But I have called you friends, because all things whatsoever 1 have heard of My Father, I have made known to yon (John xv. 15). Here He not only shows the dignity of being His friends, to which He raises us, but also the intimate manner in which He treats us as His friends, by communicating His heavenly truths to us. But the effects of His love do not stop here. By this participation of Himself, which His grace communicates to our souls He' exalts us to that inconceivable dignity' of being His adopted children. “Behold,’'’ says the beloved disciple, “what manner of charity the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called, and should be the sons of God” (1 John iii. 1). Now what human understanding can frame any idea of this most exalted dignity that we, who are by nature dust and ashes, and of ourselves nothing and vanity, should be so highly honored as to be not only allowed, but oven entitled to address ourselves to the great, eternal, incomprehensible Being, before Whom the pillars of heaven tremble, with the confidence and affection of children? “for you have not received the spirit of bondage again in fear, but' you have received the spirit of adoption of sons whereby we cry Abba, Father” (Rom. viii. 15). Now this dignity of being sons of God, is not an empty title of honor, which brings no solid advantage to our souls, but it is a dignity which carries along with it a full and perfect right to the greatest of all good to the cftily real good—the possession of God Himself, and of His eternal glory in His kingdom; “We are the sons of God,” says St. Paul, “and if sons, heirs also,: heirs indeed of God, and joint heirs with Christ” (Rom. viii. 17). Heirs of that eternal kingdom, in which God Himself, is our reward exceeding great! Heirs .of that happiness which so far exceeds everything in this world, that it cannot enter into the heart of man to form any conception of it! A

happiness the possession of which can never be taken from ns, and which will never cloy ! a kingdom that will never end, where “we all, beholding the glory of the Lord with •open face, are transformed into the same image from glory to glory, as by the spirit of the Lord” (1 Cor. iii. 18); and nhere “we shall be like to Him, because we shall'see Him as He is” (1 John iii. 2). So that- what David says shall then justly be applied to us, “I have said, You are gods and all of you the sons of the Most High” (Ps. Jxxxi. 6) • but what human mind, yea, what angelical understanding’ is capable of forming any adequate idea of such an extraordinary favor-such excessive liberality— singular magnificence—such sublime benefits as the .infinite love of Cod lias here bestowed upon us? It has gone so far, that His omnipotence can go no further; for what can God Almighty give better or more excellent than Himself? '' bat J eturu of gratitude and love are not we bound to make for such unparalleled goodness? Is there any obedience we can give Him, which can bear the smallest proporf.on to what we owe Him? And shall we refuse that little which we can do? What shocking ingratitude would tins be!