For the love of Christ compels us, because we judge thus: that if One died for all, then all died; and He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again.

  - 2 Corinthians 5.14, 15

The flame of God’s love dwells in my heart
as a jewel of gold is placed in a silver dish.

  - Attributed to Colum Cille, Noli Pater, Irish, 6th century[1]

That simile of a jewel of gold in a silver dish is most suggestive, don’t you think?

Silver has a certain inherent beauty – shiny, luminous, and appealing. Just so the human soul, made in the image of God, is fraught with potential for refracting and radiating the beauty of Christ.

Set a brilliant golden jewel in that silver dish, shining with its own inherent luster, and the beauty of the jewel reflects in the silver, heightening and transforming the already-precious dish into something more beautiful than it, by its own inherent potential, could ever achieve.

This is what the love of Christ does as it nestles and glows within our minds, hearts, and consciences. As the beauty and glory of Christ become seated in our souls, the radiance of His love transforms us from within, and issues in our words and deeds, a wondrous combination of His uniqueness in ours.

As a scholar, evangelist, and disciple-maker, Colum, the first of the great Irish peregrini, reflected the truth of this meditation. He was heir to an Irish throne, but gave that up to become a scholar trained at the monastery of Finnian. Thus, he brought many natural gifts and latent potentialities to the task of founding the monastic community on Iona.

But only the love of God could make all that potential glow with the radiance of Jesus Christ. Only the love of God could transform this hot-headed prince into a hot-hearted missionary.

Paul knew the same. The love of Jesus, which he had come to know so well, so filled and controlled him that he longed for others to know the Savior who had captured him, saved him, transformed him, and lit up his soul with divine vision and love.

Does this flame of God’s love burn and glow in our souls? Are we brought to tears of gratitude as we contemplate the extent the Father has gone to make His love known to us? Do our lives glow and radiate with the luster of the indwelling Christ? And are we moved – like Colum and Paul – to share that love with those around us?

Today is the day of salvation, another day for showing Jesus to the world. Pray for the people you will meet today, that the love of Christ will glow hot in your soul and control your every word and deed, so that others might experience the touch of God’s grace in you.

Psalm 39.1-4(Woodworth: “Just As I Am”)
I said, “My ways now let me guard, that I may not sin against You, Lord;
When wicked men surround me hard, then guard my mouth, I pray, O Lord!

No word I spoke, and sorrow grew; with burning soul I turned to You:
“Lord, make me know what I must do to live this fleeting life for You.”

Let the summits of heaven, too, praise you with roaming lightning,
O most loving Jesus, O righteous King of kings. Noli Pater [2]

T. M. Moore, Principal
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All Psalms for singing from The Ailbe Psalter. Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.