REFLECTION
Every day with Jesus Major Alistair Dawson reflects on the greatness of God’s love
M
Y favourite chorus is ‘Every Day with Jesus’. It is a simple chorus that makes a great claim: ‘Every day with Jesus is sweeter than the day before,/ Every day with Jesus, I love him more and more.’ Is that what Jesus means to you? When you have been married 56 years, as I have, you know for certain and on a daily basis how precious and lovely the life of your partner is. Rosemary, my wife, is so worthy of praise, especially after all the years we have spent together. But if that is true of an earthly relationship, why not our friendship with Jesus? Why can’t we love him more and more? ‘Jesus saves and keeps me,’ the chorus continues. He does, simply because I am worth saving and keeping – whatever I might say or do! Jesus knows and understands me so well. An influential bishop and his grandson were voyaging across the Atlantic Ocean when the boy asked him: ‘Grandad, how big is the love of God?’ That question threw the old man until he saw the ship’s compass and was able to reveal its four points. ‘Look to the north as far as you can see,’ he said. ‘The love of God goes on and on still further.’ He did the same with the other three compass points, leaving the child to wonder at the greatness of God’s love. ‘Grandad,’ the boy said, ‘does that mean we are bang in the middle of it?’ If every day is with Jesus, then every day is at the centre of God’s creative love, however hard it is to imagine it, explain it or even understand it. And how do we understand it? Stuart Hamblen was an American singer, actor, broadcaster and writer of more than 200 pop songs. Towards the end of his life, during an interview with the evangelist Billy Graham, he found Jesus to be his saviour. Talking about his conversion with his friend, the actor John Wayne, Stuart said that it was no secret what God had achieved in his life. Out of that conversion was born the song ‘It Is No Secret, What God Can Do’, with its famous line: ‘With arms wide open, he’ll pardon you!’ The beneficial love of God – love that knows no boundary, love that is not hedged in by doctrine, theology or church teachings – is open all hours. It’s a love that is ours to see, believe in and enjoy. 12
Salvationist 9 April 2022
On the mount of crucifixion Fountains opened deep and wide; Through the floodgates of God’s mercy Flowed a vast and gracious tide. Grace and love, like mighty rivers, Poured incessant from above, And Heaven’s peace and perfect justice Kissed a guilty world in love. (SASB 169) Beneficial love! I love that term, for it expresses the truth that God really cares for me. It’s a love that commences every day in a spirit of complete acceptance, with arms wide open to what life may bring. A love whose greatest joy is simply to receive us – just as we are. A love that does not seek to appease an angry God. A love that does not seek to punish Jesus for the vast backlog of accumulated human sin and evil. Rather, Jesus simply brings to us the love of God, to let us know how, by his action, God thinks and feels towards us. William Barclay, in his book Crucified and Crowned, writes: ‘God is like Jesus. In Jesus Christ we see what man ought to be. Jesus is not, as it were, less human than men, he is more human than men… In Jesus Christ we see the perfect demonstration of the love of God… As we see Jesus on the cross, we can say: “God loves me enough to do that for me.”’ Barclay goes on to say: ‘On the cross God says to us in Jesus Christ, “Nothing – absolutely nothing that you can do – can stop me loving you.”’ So, with arms wide open, he’ll pardon you – and you can live every day singing: Every day with Jesus, Is sweeter than the day before. Every day with Jesus, I love him more and more. Jesus saves and keeps me, He’s the one that I adore. Every day with Jesus Is sweeter than the day before.
MAJOR DAWSON LIVES IN RETIREMENT IN ST AUSTELL
Salvationist Day Month 2020
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