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The Eternal Love Poured Out by the Holy Spirit | Jonathan Edwards · Reformed Thinking

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Welcome to reform thinking. You know, it is a very common
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assumption today that if you are out there seeing signs or
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wonders and getting these immediate revelations from
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heaven that you have reached the absolute peak of the Christian
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life. Oh yeah, I mean, that is pretty
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much the gold standard for a lot of people.
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Right. And, you know, think about it
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kind of like a massive fireworks display.
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It is incredibly loud. It it instantly draws a massive
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crowd, the skylights up in these brilliant colors, and everyone
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just stops what they're doing to stare at it.
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Yeah, you cannot ignore fireworks.
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No, you really cannot. But The thing is, fireworks fade
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really fast. You know, you get this huge
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boom, and then you were just left with a dark sky and the
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smell of smoke. But then on the other hand, you
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have something much quieter, like the steady heat of a
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furnace down in the basement of a house.
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Right, which is not flashy at all.
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Not at all. I mean, nobody's going to stand
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outside and applaud a furnace, right?
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But it is the thing that actually keeps you alive through
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a freezing winter. And that brings us to our topic.
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For this deep dive, we are looking at Jonathan Edwards
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classic writings from charity and its fruits.
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Specifically, we are really zeroing in on 1st Corinthians 13
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verses 8 through 10. That is where the Apostle Paul
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makes this massive declaration that charity never faileth.
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Yeah, and our mission for you today is to figure out why
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divine love outlasts all those other spiritual gifts.
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We want to see Edward's argument for why miraculous gifts
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actually ceased and grasp how this theology really shapes your
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view of the Bible and, well, your eternal destination.
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And there's a huge hook here that I think cashes people off
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guard. You might assume that performing
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miracles or getting direct revelations are the peak of
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spiritual maturity, right? But Edwards argues they're
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actually childish. Thing.
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Yeah, childish things compared to the quiet, lasting grace of
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divine love. It is a striking concept.
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So let us jump right in. When we look at the context of
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First Corinthians 13, what is Paul actually doing there?
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Well, we really have to track the drift of Paul's argument.
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He is writing to a church in Corinth.
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That was, I mean, they were absolutely obsessed with those
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fireworks you mentioned. They wanted the big show.
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Spot on. They highly prized the flashy
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outward manifestations of the Holy Spirit.
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They wanted the visible stuff, the audible stuff, the
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spectacular. So Paul steps into that whole
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chaotic situation to show the absolute superiority of charity,
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which is divine love, over all those other graces.
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OK, so how does he build that case?
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I know he points out three specific things about charity to
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start with. Right.
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First, he shows that charity is the most essential thing.
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He argues that you know all of their gifts are absolutely
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nothing without it. Even the spectacular ones.
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Even the spectacular ones. I mean, you could have the most
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amazing abilities, you could speak angelic languages.
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But if you are lacking love, Paul says, you're just making a
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metallic clanging noise. It is just noise.
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Wow. OK, so it is essential.
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What is the second thing? Second, he points out that from
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this charity, all good dispositions and behavior arise.
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It acts as the the root system for patience, for kindness, for
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humility. All of that grows out of love.
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That makes sense. And then the third thing, which
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I know is where Edwards really focuses his attention is about
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how long it lasts. Exactly.
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Well, yes, that is precisely it. Paul shows that charity is the
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most durable of all gifts. It is designed to remain when
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the Church of God reaches its perfect state and when all the
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other gifts of the Spirit have just vanished away.
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So it outlasts everything else. Yeah, charity not only
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withstands the shock of all opposition in this world, which
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is why Paul says it endureth all things, but it also outlasts
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time itself. When all temporal things fail,
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charity abides forever. OK, but Paul lists off a few
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specific things that do have an expiration date.
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He says whether there be prophecies, they shall fail.
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Whether there be tongues, they shall cease.
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Whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away.
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Yes. That is the cortex right there.
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Now I have a bit of pushback on that last item.
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If the goal of studying theology or reading Edwards or analyzing
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scripture is to gain knowledge, it sounds incredibly
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discouraging to hear that knowledge just vanishes.
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That is a very fairpoint to bring up.
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Right. I mean, why would you, the
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listener, spend hours reading dense theological treatises if
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the knowledge you're gaining is just going to evaporate in the
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end? It sounds like we are wasting
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our time building a sandcastle right next to the incoming tide.
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And that reaction makes complete sense when you hear the phrase
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in modern English. But Edwards clarifies A crucial
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distinction right away because Paul is using a specific
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definition there. OK.
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What is the distinction? When the text says knowledge, it
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shall vanish away. It does not mean generic
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spiritual or divine learning. It does not mean that everything
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you learn about God or you know. The speculative knowledge you
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obtain from reason and diligent study will just be erased.
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So I am not going to get to heaven and suddenly forget all
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my theology. No, not at all.
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But actually, the saving knowledge of God, that
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understanding that comes from the saving influence of the Holy
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Spirit in the soul, will gloriously increase in heaven.
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Heaven is a world of light as well as love, right?
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Your understanding of God, Christ and spiritual realities
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will be perfected, not deleted. OK.
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That is a relief. So what kind of knowledge is
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Paul talking about them? Edwards explains that the
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knowledge Paul mentions here refers to a specific miraculous
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gift that was present in the early church.
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It was the ability by immediate inspiration to understand hidden
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mysteries and the mysterious types in the Old Testament.
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Ah, so it is like an instant download of information.
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Yes, precisely. It corresponds to the word of
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knowledge mentioned earlier in Paul's letter.
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This was an extraordinary gift given to specific individuals to
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instantly grasp and communicate divine mysteries without any
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prior study or theological training.
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So they did not have to hit the books.
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Right. And it is this miraculous,
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immediate inspiration that sudden download of hidden truth
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of the apostle says, shall vanish away right alongside
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prophecy in tongues. OK, that clarifies things
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immensely. We're not talking about losing
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our hard earned understanding of God's character.
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We are talking about the cessation of a very specific
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delivery method. The instant miraculous download
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is what vanishes. Yes, the delivery method is what
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has an expiration date. So if charity is the one
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property that never fails, we really have to scrutinize the
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other fruits of the Spirit that do fail.
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And Edwards divides these temporary fruits into two
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categories. He does.
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The first category consists of the extraordinary gifts of the
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Spirit. These are the miraculous
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abilities we see so prominently in the New Testament era.
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Like the fireworks we mentioned. Earlier.
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Yes, the fireworks. This includes the gift of
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prophecy, the gift of tongues, which, by the way, Edward
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strictly defines the power of speaking in actual human
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languages that had never been learned by the speaker, and that
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direct, immediate inspiration or word of knowledge we just
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discussed. And those were pretty widespread
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in the early church, right? Very widespread, they were given
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to prophets, apostles, evangelists, and a multitude of
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common Christians. In the early days of the Church.
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They were overt, miraculous demonstrations of the Holy
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Spirit's presence. But they were not meant to stick
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around forever. No, They were introduced for a
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specific season to establish Christianity in a hostile world,
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and once that goal was achieved, they were meant to cease.
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OK, so that is the first category, but Edwards introduces
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a second category of temporary fruits, and honestly, this one
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challenges a lot of modern assumptions.
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It really does. It is quite a sobering thought.
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He brings up the common and ordinary gifts of the Spirit,
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and he argues that unconverted natural men can actually possess
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them. Yes, and he identifies these
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common gifts as convictions of sin, common illuminations, and
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religious affections. So an unconverted person can
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experience those, and that sounds contradictory to how a
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lot of people talk about the spirits work today.
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It does, but the theological reality here is quite strict.
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A person who is completely unregenerate, someone who has
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not been born again, can experience a conviction of sin.
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They can feel a sudden illumination of a biblical
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truth. They can even have strong
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religious affections. We should probably define
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religious affections in Edwards framework just so we are clear.
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Good idea. He does not just mean passing
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emotions like feeling a little happy or sad.
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He means the vigorous, active exercises of the will and
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inclination. Someone can feel a strong
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desire, a type of sorrow, or a burst of joy directed at
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spiritual things. So they look and act very
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spiritual. They do.
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They might have a type of faith or a type of hope, but Edwards
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argues that without divine love, none of this has any saving
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value. The Holy Spirit is acting upon
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them, but He is not dwelling within them.
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OK, let me pause you there. Acting upon them but not
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dwelling within them. That is a massive difference.
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It is the difference between life and death, really.
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There is a huge distinction between the spirit influencing a
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mind from the outside and the spirit taking up permanent
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residence inside a regenerated heart.
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It aligns perfectly with Paul's warning that having faith to
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remove mountains is absolutely nothing without charity.
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I was trying to visualize this difference between common gifts
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and saving grace. Kind of makes me think of a
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house. OK, how so?
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Well, having common siritual gifts without divine love is
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like walking through a beautifully constructed house
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with no one living inside it. You know, you walk up to the
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property and the architecture is stunning.
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The framing is solid, the roof is intact, the windows let in
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light and it looks completely functional from the outside.
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Right. It looks like a proper house.
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Yeah. The builder has clearly done
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significant work there. But then when you step in the
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front door, it is just freezing cold.
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There is no furniture, there is no fire in the hearth, no food
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in the pantry and no laughter in the halls.
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It lacks the actual breath of life.
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It is just an empty shell. That is a brilliant way to
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picture it that captures the emptiness of possessing the
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structure of religion without the lifeblood.
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Of it because a person can have those structural elements right.
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They can weep during a sermon, they can grasp complex
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doctrines, they can feel A rush of excitement during a worship
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song. But it is just an empty house.
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Yes, an unconverted person might have a structure that looks
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incredibly impressive to everyone around them.
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They might weep bitterly over their sins.
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We call that conviction, and it is a real effect of the Holy
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Spirit's influence. But it is still just the outside
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influence. Right.
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They might understand a complex theological point that
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previously confused them. That is a common elimination.
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They might feel a surge of zeal to defend biblical truth as a
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religious affections. Edwards acknowledges these are
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fruits of the Spirit, but they are not the distinguishing
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fruits of the Spirit. Because they lack the love.
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Exact. Well, yes, they lack the essence
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of saving grace, which is divine love.
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Edwards argues that all saving faith and all saving hope have
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love in them as their very essence.
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If you take that divine love out of the equation, you are left
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with nothing but a body without a spirit.
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And because of this, these common gifts are only temporary.
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Correct. For the unconverted person,
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these common gifts will completely cease when they die.
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The conviction of sin will turn into eternal despair, the
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illumination will vanish, and the religious affections will
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die. That is a chilling thought.
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It is, and for the Church as a collective body, all these
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common illuminations and convictions will cease after the
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Day of Judgement because the entire flock will be perfected.
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OK, but this raises a huge question.
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If the house is empty, why did the builder bother framing it?
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That is the logical next question.
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Yeah, if even unconverted people can experience these temporary
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common gifts, and if the spectacular miraculous gifts
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have an expiration date, why did God provide them in the first
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place? If they are designed to fail,
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what purpose do they accomplish? And this is where Edwards breaks
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down the relationship between all these fading gifts and the
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one lasting grace of love. He does it by using the concept
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of the means versus the end. The means versus the end, OK,
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let's break that down. This is really the philosophical
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hinge of Edwards entire argument.
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He posits that the primary reason other gifts fail while
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love remains is that love is the end, and all other gifts are
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simply the means to that end. We need to be very precise about
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what end means in this context, though.
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Right. It means the final goal, the
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intended outcome of God's redemptive work.
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Revelation, inspiration and miracles were never given for
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their own sake. God did not just want to put on
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a magic show. No, God did not grant the
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ability to speak in tongues or prophesied just to put on a
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spectacle. They were provided entirely to
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promote holiness and to build Christ's Kingdom in the hearts
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of men. And the sum of all holiness,
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according to Edwards and the apostle Paul, is Christian love.
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So the growth of love is the actual goal.
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Yes, the growth of love is the growth of Christ's Kingdom in
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the soul. The extraordinary fruits were
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given to reveal and confirm the Word and will of God, so that
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men might believe and conform to that will.
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They were valuable only so far as they tended to this goal.
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And once that goal is obtained, the tools are put away.
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That is the logic, yes. You know, Edwards uses a really
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helpful agricultural analogy in the text to clarify this
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concept. He says it is like the fruits of
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a field. Oh yes, the farming analogy.
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Right. A field of wheat requires a
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massive amount of intervention to grow.
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It needs the farmer to come out with tools for tillage.
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It desperately needs the rain to fall and it needs the sunshine.
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And those elements are absolutely essential during the
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growing season. If you withhold the rain, the
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crop just dies. Exactly.
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But once the fruits are ripe and gathered in, once the harvest is
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brought into the barn, those tools and elements are no longer
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needed. You do not stand inside the
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storage barn and pour water over the harvested wheat.
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Now that would ruin it. Right.
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You do not take a plow into the storage silo.
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Miracles, prophecies, and tongues are the rain, the
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sunshine, and the tillage. They are the means of grace, but
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holy love is the ripened harvested crop.
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And this logic applies beautifully to the state of the
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believer in heaven. Edwards details why there is no
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occasion for means of grace in heaven, whether ordinary means
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like the preaching of the word or extraordinary means like
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miracles. Because the harvest is already
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in the barn. Precisely the goal of all means
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is the perfect sanctification and happiness of God's people.
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In heaven, that goal is fully attained.
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Edwards actually quotes the 4th chapter of Ephesians to back
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this up. What?
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Does that passage say? It states that the various means
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of grace are given for the perfecting of the Saints, for
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the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of
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Christ, till we all come in the unity of the faith and of the
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knowledge of the Son of God unto a perfect man.
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Unto a perfect man. So it is a temporary building
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process. Yes, once the Saints are
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perfected, once they arrive at the fullness of the stature of
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Christ, there is no further occasion for the tools.
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The scaffolding is taken down because the building is
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finished. The harvest is in the barn, so
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the plows are left out in the field.
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That agricultural logic makes complete sense for heaven.
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I mean, you would not need a prophecy about God's will when
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you're standing face to face with Him.
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Right, that would be redundant, but Edwards takes.
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This concept of the means ceasing and he applies it to the
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church on earth. He argues that these miraculous
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tools ceased for the earthly church once a specific
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historical milestone was reached.
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He does, and that is where the history comes in.
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But this is where people get hung up.
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If God is unchanging, did he just abruptly turn off the
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miracle tap one Tuesday in the 1st century?
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Well, Edwards actually traces a massive historical timeline of
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when miracles happened, when they stopped, and why it was not
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just a random Tuesday. Walk us through that timeline,
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because I think a lot of people assume miracles were just a
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constant daily occurrence in biblical times.
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Right, they really were not. Edwards walks us through the
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historical timeline of the spirits extraordinary
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communications, and he specifically highlights the long
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intermissions. These miraculous gifts were
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granted from time to time, but not without considerable pauses.
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So there were gaps. Where does he start?
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He starts before the sacred Canon was written, before the
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Book of Job, where the five books of Moses existed.
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People received the Word of God through immediate revelation.
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God spoke directly to Adam and Eve, to Abel and to Enoch.
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And Noah, right? Yes, Noah received immediate
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revelations to warn the Old World.
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Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph were favored with
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immediate revelations and extraordinary gifts.
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Job and his friends experienced dreams and visions.
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But that was the patriarchal era.
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What happened after that? After that era there was an
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intermission of extraordinary gifts.
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Until the time of Moses, the people of Israel were largely
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left to the traditions passed down by their fathers during
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their enslavement in Egypt. OK, so we have this burst of
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direct communication, then a quiet period, and then Moses
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arrives on the scene with unprecedented, miraculous signs.
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Unprecedented is the right word from Moses, Edwards says.
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There is a succession of prophets.
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This succession is kept up with a few interruptions all the way
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until the time of the prophet Malachi.
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And let us pause at what happens after Malachi, because that is a
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major gap, Edwards notes. A long pause of several 100
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years. Theologians call this the 400
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years of silence. Imagine the psychological toll
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of that on the faithful remnant of Israel.
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Generation after generation lived and died without a single
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new prophet, no new inspired writings, and no miraculous
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effusions of the Spirit. It would have been incredibly
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difficult. They had to rely entirely on the
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written Old Testament texts that they already had.
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And that silence was heavy, and it lasted until the dawn of the
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Gospel day. Suddenly the Spirit began again
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to be given an extraordinary gift to specific individuals who
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are preparing the way for Christ.
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Like who? We see it in Anna, Simeon,
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Zacharias, Elizabeth, Mary, Joseph, and John the Baptist.
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These communications were given to make way for the great
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prophet of God, Jesus Christ, who had the Spirit without
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measure. And then Christ starts his
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ministry. Yes, and during His earthly
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ministry His disciples were given a measure of miraculous
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gifts to teach and work miracles.
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But the most full and remarkable effusion of the Spirit occurred
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after Christ's resurrection and ascension, starting at
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Pentecost. Which kicks off the Apostolic
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era. Right.
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For the 1st 100 years of the Christian era, miracles were
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incredibly common. It was not just one or two
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extraordinary people. These gifts were widespread in
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the local congregations. Well, the early church was in
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its infancy. It was a brand new era, a
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monumental shift in redemptive history.
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It faced immense opposition and needed absolute, undeniable
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confirmation that this new teaching was from God.
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They needed the divine signature.
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Exactly. Yes, the divine signature, the
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miracles, were authenticating the message of the apostles.
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They were the necessary scaffolding to erect the
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structure of the early church. You have to remember they were
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overthrowing the entire previous Jewish system of temple worship
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and sacrifices. That is a massive paradigm
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shift. That requires a massive amount
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of divine authentication, but then we hit a definitive turning
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point. Yes, this era of miracles
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continued during the lifetime of the apostles, but it came to an
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end around the death of the last apostle John, roughly 100 years
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from the birth of Christ. Because John wrote Revelation.
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Right when the apostle John completed the Book of
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Revelation, the established written revelation of God's mind
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and will was finished. The Canon of Scripture was
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completed. That changes the whole dynamic.
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It does. We need to introduce a
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theological term here to help explain it.
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Dispensation. A dispensation is essentially an
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administration of God's household.
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Like how a household is managed. Yes.
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Think of it like a household manager running in a state
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differently when the heir is a toddler versus when the heir is
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an adult. The roles change, but the
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manager is the same. The transition from the Old
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Testament shadows to the New Testament reality was a massive
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dispensational shift. And the miracles were there to
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authenticate that shift. Yes, but once the shift was
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complete and the instructions for the new household were fully
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written down, the authenticating signs were no longer necessary.
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Now, people often push back on this.
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They think of God as infinitely commutative.
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To say he wrote a book, finished the last chapter, and then
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permanently stopped giving direct, miraculous revelations,
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well, it feels restrictive to the modern mind.
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It feels like putting God in a box.
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Yeah, it really does. We prefer the open microphone to
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heaven. We want the burning Bush.
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And Edwards answers that sentiment by pointing to the
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absolute sufficiency of what was given in the text.
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He argues that the written Canon is a standing all sufficient
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rule for the Church in all ages. So we do not need the open mic
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because we have the finished book, right?
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Miracles were never the primary communication.
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They were meant to confirm the communication.
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Once the Scriptures were finished, God had fully recorded
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everything the church would ever need for faith and practice.
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The means had achieved their end.
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Precisely. The Jewish church and nation had
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been overthrown, the Christian Church was established, and the
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final administration was in place.
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Because there was no further occasion for them, God caused
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the miraculous gifts to fail. Prophecies failed.
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Tongues ceased. And the miraculous word of
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knowledge vanished away precisely as First Corinthians
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13 predicted. It is not about restricting God.
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It is about recognizing that God's perfect provision in the
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written Word renders the temporary scaffolding
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unnecessary. So asking for miracles is like
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asking for the scaffolding back. Yes, and expecting God to keep
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providing the scaffolding after the building is finished
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actually dishonors the perfection of the building.
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Understanding that the Canon is complete and all sufficient
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leads directly to Edwards severe warnings for believers.
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And Edwards looks at his own time, the mid 1700s.
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But his warnings apply with massive force to us today.
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They absolutely do. He addresses the concept of the
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latter day glory. There was a popular idea in many
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circles that the future glorious times of the Church on earth
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right before the end of the world will include a massive
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return of prophets, tongues and miracles.
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People want the book of Acts Part 2.
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Yeah, people imagine an era where the church goes back to
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looking exactly like that first century.
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They want the fireworks back. But Edward strongly refutes
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this. He refutes it using the very
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text we are analyzing. He argues that expecting a
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return of miracles contradicts the Apostle Paul's logic.
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Edwards unpacks the context of First Corinthians 13.10, which
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says, But when that which is perfect has come, then that
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which is in part shall be done away.
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What? Does he mean by in part?
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He explains that Prophecy in Miracles actually argue for an
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imperfect infant state of the Church.
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They are, in his words, leading strings for a toddler.
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Leading strings like harnesses. Yeah, like harnesses.
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When a child is learning to walk, you use harnesses or
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physical supports to keep them upright, but you do not put a
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grown adult in leading strings. That'll be ridiculous.
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Right. So to desire miracles now, when
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we have the completed Word of God, is to regress to childish
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things. Relying on the written Word and
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the internal sentifying work of the Spirit to produce love is
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the mature, manly state of the Church.
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So the church growing up means leaving the miracles behind.
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Yes, he argues that a future glorious state of the Church
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will not be glorious because it has more fireworks.
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It will be glorious because it has a hotter, brighter furnace
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of divine love. The Church does not need new
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profits. It needs a massive outpouring of
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charity. Now this hits very close to home
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for a lot of well meaning people because individuals today
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frequently make massive life choices based on something
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outside the written word. They do it all the time.
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They talk about feeling led to take a specific job, or getting
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a sudden impression about who they should marry, or having a
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vivid dream that dictates their next financial move.
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If the Canon is closed and miracles have ceased, where do
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those impulses come from and how does Edwards view them?
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Well, Edwards delivers a strict, severe warning regarding this
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practice. He states that relying on
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immediate impressions, supposed new revelations about your duty,
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or hidden knowledge about someone else's spiritual state
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is highly dangerous. He does not mince words there.
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No, he breaks it down logically. If these impressions and vivid
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dreams were actually from God's Spirit, giving you near specific
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information not found in the Bible, they would be of the
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nature of those extraordinary gifts of the Spirit, like
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prophecy or the word of knowledge.
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But we just established those are gone.
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Right, the apostle Paul already declared those gifts have ceased
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and are done away. Since they have failed, there is
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no biblical reason to suppose God will restore them to guide
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your career path. So what does he call them?
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Therefore, Edwards categorizes these supposed immediate
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directions as gross delusions. Gross delusions.
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That is a heavy. Term it is heavy, but he insists
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that the written Word of God combined with sanctified reason
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are the only reliable guides for our faith and our practice.
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Seeking outside of that is stepping out from the safety of
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the all sufficient rule God has provided and handing yourself
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over to your own imagination, or worse.
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Wow, stripping away the reliance on signs, wonders, and temporary
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impressions really leaves you to consider what actually carries
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over into eternity it. Strips away all the fluff.
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It does if all the scaffolding falls away, if the tools are
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left in the shed, what is the final state of the believer in
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the church? We have talked extensively about
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what fails, but we need to look at what remains.
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Let us look at the individual believer facing death.
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For the individual believer, Edwards explains that when true
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members of Christ's invisible church die, a massive shedding
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process occurs. They leave their physical bodies
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behind, obviously, but they also leave all those temporary gifts
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behind. Even the apostles.
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Yes, if an apostle died, he left his miraculous gifts of healing
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and prophecy on earth. Furthermore, all those common
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gifts we discussed earlier, the common convictions of sin, the
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temporary eliminations, the passing religious affections,
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those are left behind as well. So what makes it through?
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The divine love that the Holy Spirit implanted in their hearts
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goes with them into eternity. It never fails in this world
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through trials, and it does not cease at death.
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It crosses the threshold into the next life.
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You know, leaving those miraculous and common gifts
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behind at death is kind of like an astronaut shedding the rocket
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boosters once they reach orbit. That is a great visual.
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Yeah, the boosters were absolutely necessary for the
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initial launch. You need massive amounts of
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thrust and fire to breakthrough the gravitational pull and the
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friction of the atmosphere. But once you are in the vacuum
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of space in the intend environment, those boosters are
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totally useless. They become dead weight.
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Right. They become dead weight.
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They detach and fall away, leaving the council to continue
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its mission. The miracles and common gifts
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are the boosters. They got the church off the
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ground in a hostile world, but Divine Love is the capital.
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It is the only thing designed to operate in the atmosphere of
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heaven. Because the gravity of sin is
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gone, the friction of the world is gone.
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Exactly. Precisely.
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The environment of heaven requires a different set of
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operations, and Edwards extends this beyond the individual to
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the collective church at the end of the world.
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What does that look like? Well, when the Church of Christ
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is settled in its last complete and eternal state, all common
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gifts will be eternally at an end.
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There will be no more need for convictions of sin, because sin
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will be entirely eradicated from the believer.
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And the illuminations. There will be no need for sudden
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illuminations of theology because we will see face to
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face, but divine Love will be brought to its most glorious
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perfection. Edwards uses specific striking
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imagery to describe this. What kind of imagery?
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He says that the love we experience in our hearts right
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now, even on our best days, seems like a mere spark.
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It is small, it is easily smothered, and it is often cold.
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But in heaven, that tiny spark will be kindled to a bright and
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glowing flame. A glowing flame.
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He envisions a scenario where every ransom soul will be, as he
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puts it, in a blaze of divine and holy love.
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And this state is not static. They will remain and grow in
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this glorious perfection and blessedness forever.
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A blaze of divine and holy love. We have covered a massive amount
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of theological and historical ground today, all stemming from
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that short phrase charity, never faileth.
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It is amazing how much depth is in those three words.
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It really is. We have seen that miracles,
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prophecies and extraordinary gifts were temporary
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scaffolding. They were the rain and the
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tillage meant to build the early church and establish the final
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sufficient written word of God. And we also saw that even common
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spiritual experiences can be possessed by those who are
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converted, making them temporary as well.
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Right, the true lasting fruit of the Spirit.
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The only thing that crosses the threshold of eternity is
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charity. So it is time to carefully
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evaluate what you value in your spiritual life.
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That is the practical application of all this.
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Edwards urges you to earnestly seek this blessed fruit of
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charity above extraordinary experiences, above emotional
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highs, and certainly above supposed new revelations.
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Possessing divine Love is the surest evidence of true grace in
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your soul. It is the final proof that your
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religion is a living home and not an empty house.
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It is the only thing that lasts. So I will leave you with a final
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thought to Mull over. If heaven is entirely a world of
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love where all other spiritual tools, gifts, and means have
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completely vanished, are the things you spend the most time
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cultivating in your religious life right now the things that
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will actually survive the trip to eternity?
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Are you chasing the fading fireworks, or are you tending to
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the lasting fire in the furnace?