It’s been said, St. Francis of Assisi contemplated the love of Christ until he caught the glow of His Spirit, which he went about radiating (1).
The operative word for me is contemplated, which means to look at pensively, to ponder or consider thoughtfully, to meditate on.
In St. Francis’ case, he chose to thoughtfully consider a simple subject: the love of Christ.
And the result was quite astounding. Francis glowed with the Spirit—so profoundly that others took note of his radiance.
By contrast, it stands to reason that worry and unrest are the direct result of misdirected or insufficient contemplation. In addition, no one can glow with the Spirit if thoughts of discontentment predominate.
For some, the love of Christ might seem too simple a subject and difficult to contemplate for very long. But if we challenge ourselves to scan the New Testament, we’ll discover many worthy thoughts to ponder about Jesus’ love. Thoughts such as these:
First, his love for humanity compelled him to leave the perfection of heaven for a life of poverty on earth. Ultimately, he laid down his life so that we might become children of God and heirs of his immeasurable, heavenly riches (2).
While here on earth, Jesus made it clear he loves everyone, including:
- Those whom others ignore, like blind beggars and penniless widows (3)
- Those considered unimportant, like children (4)
- Those whose sin tends to be concealed beneath the surface, like the rich young ruler (5)
- Those no one else will go near, like lepers with ulcerated and decaying flesh (6)
- Those who make mistakes, misunderstand truth, and bicker among themselves—like Jesus’ disciples (7)
- Those who commit crimes, like the thief crucified with Jesus (8)
- Even those who would try to kill him (9)
His love compels him to:
- Seek after those who stray, never giving up until each one is safely home (10)
- Knock gently but persistently at the doors of our hearts, because he dearly wants us to enjoy fellowship with him (11)
- Offer God-enhanced, blessing-abundant living now, with eternity in heaven to come (12)
Because he love us, Jesus wants to:
- Draw us into his protective care, like a hen gathers her chicks (13)
- Enjoy our company forever (14)
- Reveal himself to us (15)—not in physical form (just yet!), but in the evidence of his loving kindness, righteousness, power and glory
- Protect us from fear by teaching us how to let peace stand guard over our hearts (16)
- Fill us with all the fullness of God–his perfect attributes, generous blessings, and hope-saturated promises (17)
Nothing we say, nothing we do, nothing that happens to us can separate us from the love of Christ (18).
And “we are never nearer Christ than when we find ourselves lost in a holy amazement of his unspeakable love” (19).
No wonder St. Francis glowed.
* * * * * * * * * *
We do stand in awe, Lord Jesus, of the sweeping landscape of your love as revealed in scripture. And just as St. Francis of Assisi practiced careful contemplation centuries ago, may we continually ponder the expanse of your love—its breadth, length, height and depth.
Notes:
- Ralph W. Sockman, The Higher Happiness
- 2 Corinthians 8:9; John 15:13; 1 John 3:1; Ephesians 2:7
- Mark 10:46-52; Matthew 8:16
- Mark 10:13-16
- Mark 10:21
- Matthew 8:3
- Acts 1:6; Mark 8:14-21; Luke 9:46
- Luke 23:39-43
- Luke 23:34
- Matthew 18:11-13
- Revelation 3:20
- John 10:10; 3:16
- Matthew 23:37
- John 14:3
- John 14:21
- 1 John 4:18; Philippians 4:6-7
- Ephesians 3:19
- Romans 8:35-38
- John Owen (1616-1683), English theologian
(Art & photo credits: http://www.wikipedia.org; http://www.heartlight.org; http://www.pexels.net; http://www.pixabay.com; http://www.canva.com (2).
What contemplation of Jesus’ love makes your heart glow? Share your thoughts in the Comment section below!
From the Inside Out 
He melts my heart so often! It is so wonderful to know He loves me, protects me, and continually draws me close. I treasure His presence, which is always near. There is no greater love than His. My BELOVED is mine and I am His!!!!! I rejoice in my soon-coming Bridegroom.
Amen, Nikki! I love your passion for Jesus, and it shows on your face. You are another of his glowing saints!
Hi Nancy,
This little light of mine, I’m going to let it shine. I pray nothing blocks Jesus.
In Christ, Gary
Your reference to a song from my childhood made me smile! And with you I pray nothing blocks the radiance of our Jesus!
wouldn’t you love to glow like Francis? I know I would. love this post, Nancy. And you too.
Oh, yes–to glow like Francis so others are drawn to the Light! Thank you, Jean. Sending love to you also!
I love this Nancy… especially Eph 3:19…”Jesus wants to fill us with the fullness of God, His perfect attributes, His generous blessings and His Hope saturated promises…” Wowza… how amazing is His love and goodness❣️
Wowza indeed! 🙂 Love that word, Wowza, for expressing amazement! Delightfully perfect for extolling our Jesus’ love and goodness. Thank you, Lisa!
I am so blessed that “Nothing we say, nothing we do, nothing that happens to us can separate us from the love of Christ.” (Romans 8:35-38) I praise God for the countless times he reassures me even though my faith should be stronger. He loves me in spite of my failings! Nancy, I am blessed by this post. Thank you!
Yes, praise God he loves us in spite of our failings! SO incredible. Praise God you were blessed by this post. Thank you, Cheri, for your gracious and faithful comments. You are a wonderful encourager!
Basically, all of the words in red in the New Testament. But here’s one that makes me glow at the moment: “No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not understand what his master is doing. But I have called you friends, because everything I have learned from My Father I have made known to you.” John 15:15
Now there’s a glow-inducing statement for sure: Jesus considers us his friends. A glorious addition to the list. Thank you, Mitch!
So good, Nancy. Meditation and contemplation, exercises that are rare in this world of smartphones, sadly.
You are really good at making picture quotes, I have to learn how to do that
Thank you, Bill. So glad you like the picture quotes. Visit http://www.canva.com and play with the various image-building features they offer. It’s fun! I’m no expert, but if you run into trouble and have no techie to ask, I’ll do my best to help!
What a great post. I was just thinking today as I did the dishes, that there is too much junk in my head and I want to dwell instead on the love of God! This post really drives it home for me.
Well! Praise God for his timing (again)! You’ve got me thinking about the love of God and dishes–how the water and warmth, the dirt-cleansing soap and even the bubbles offer imagery for God’s love and the ways he has manifested that love. We could keep our minds quite busy contemplating all the nuances of symbolism, and be done with the dishes before we know it! 🙂