True love is not merely a sentiment or an emotion. It is a living principle, a principle that is manifest in action. True love, wherever it exists, will control the life. Thus it is with the love of God. “God is love;” and in all His works, in all His dealings with mankind, His character is revealed.
God manifested His love in the work of creation. When the earth was created, it was holy and beautiful. God pronounced it “very good.” Every flower, every shrub, every tree, answered the purpose of its Creator. Everything upon which the eye rested was lovely, and filled the mind with thoughts of the love of God. Every sound was music, in perfect harmony with the voice of God.
The things of nature, upon which we look today, give us but a faint conception of Eden’s beauty and glory; yet the natural world, with unmistakable voice, proclaims the love of God. Even now “the earth is full of the goodness of the Lord.” It still reveals the working of the great Master-Artist. It declares that One omnipotent in power, great in goodness and mercy, has created all things.
Published in The Australasian Union Conference Record, June 1, 1900
Last modified: February 15, 2025
