In The Seven Laws Of Love, Dave Willis gives us some highly practical, biblically-based counsel for investing in all of our relationships. Normally when I share quotes from books, I share all of them at once, but I felt like it would be good to share these quotes a bit more slowly, to give you time to read them and apply them.
The seven laws Dave identifies are:
- Love requires commitment (read the quotes here)
- Love selflessly sacrifices (read the quotes here)
- Love speaks truth (read the quotes here)
- Love conquers fear (read the quotes here)
- Love offers grace
- Love brings healing
- Love lives forever
From law #5, here are some quotes on grace—
“If we deserved forgiveness, it wouldn’t be called grace. If we can earn it, it wouldn’t be real love.”
“Jesus was the perfect embodiment of both love and truth. He never told a lie, but at the same time He was never cruel or judgmental with the truth. Every word He spoke was wrapped in love, so even when the truth hurt, He never broke anyone’s trust. Jesus not only modeled how to speak the truth in love, but He also showed us how to offer grace when trust is broken. … Jesus loved Peter enough to give him the opportunity to be forgiven and rebuild trust. That opportunity for grace wasn’t an exclusive offer for Peter; it’s an opportunity God freely extends to all of us who have broken trust (which is everybody). It’s also a command. We can’t receive God’s grace without being willing to extend grace to others.”
“Some people get stuck in a cycle of grudges and mistrust because they wrongly assume that forgiveness and trust are the same thing. It’s vital that we understand their distinctions. Forgiveness can’t be earned; it can only be given freely. That’s why it’s called grace. Trust, however, can’t be given freely; it can only be earned. When someone breaks your trust, you should give your forgiveness instantly, but give your trust slowly as it is earned through consistency of actions by whoever broke your trust. During this period of rebuilding, fight the urge to punish or retaliate. Those actions won’t do anything to promote healing, and healing always needs to be our ultimate objective. Love, after all, is a healing force. You don’t have to trust someone in order to forgive, but you do have to forgive someone in order to make trust possible again.”
“When you’ve broken trust, you must be willing to take immediate action to rebuild it. When someone has broken your trust, you must be willing to provide that person the opportunity to rebuild. Giving someone the chance to reestablish trust is one of the most loving acts you can do for someone.”
“Our responses to present difficulties will often determine our level of future opportunities.”
Check out my review of The Seven Laws Of Love by clicking here.
Watch for the last few quotes from the other laws of love over the next couple of days.
Craig T. Owens 
9 Quotes From “Light And Truth in the Gospels”
September 23, 2015 — Craig T. Owens“Man’s love of man is according to merit, on expectation of response; God’s love of man has no reference to deserving or to return. Man’s love of man is contracted, exclusive, and grudging; God’s love to man is as boundless as it is free. He forgives without condition; He loves without reserve; He blesses without measure or end.”
“God takes man as he is, simply a sinner, ‘without strength,’ and without goodness. He does not ask man to meet Him halfway between earth and heaven; He comes down all the way to earth in the Person of His Incarnate Son. He does not resort to half-measures, nor is He content with half-payment. He comes down to man in absolute and unconditional love; without terms or bargains; Himself paying the whole price, and thus leaving nothing for the sinner but to except the frank forgiveness which His boundless love has brought.”
“Our giving depends much on the state of our minds at the moment. When depressed, we have no pleasure in giving; we either refuse, or we give merely to get quit of the applicant. Darkness of mind shrivels us up, makes us selfish, neglectful of others. When full of joy, giving seems our element—our joy overflows in this way; we cannot help giving; we delight in applications; we seek opportunities of giving. So with the blessed God. Being altogether happy, His delight is to give; His perfect blessedness flows out in giving. We can never come wrongly to such an infinitely happy Being.”
“From Genesis to Revelation we hear His voice. It is the voice of love. ‘Come unto Me’ is the burden of the Old Testament as well as of the New. It is not merely that each chapter speaks of Jesus; but in each chapter Jesus speaks to us. And each verse, He is lying in wait for us.”
“Poor wanderer, you need not then try to cover your rags, or to hide your filth, or to try to make yourself more like what you were in order to attract your Father. It is just that which you are which excites His compassion. … God comes up to the sinner with the fullness of reconciliation in His heart. He does not stay to be entreated, or pleaded with, or persuaded. He hastens up to us, and embraces us in the fullness of His heart.”
“We poor prodigals must be gloriously clad! Not sack cloth, nor cast-off raiment, nor a servant’s dress; not Adam’s nor an angels’ righteousness; but something better than all—the robe of Jesus! … The prodigal is not to go in search of it. It must be brought out to him. On the spot; just where he is and as he is, bring it out, bring it to him. … It is not, ‘Give it to him, and let him put it on himself’; but, ‘Put it on.’ He has but to stand still and allow himself to be thus clothed and blessed. He does nothing. He does not need to do anything. Love does it all. The Father does it all.”
“What is the meaning of God sending His own Son, if less than salvation was intended; if less than Incarnation will do, less than blood, less than death, less than resurrection? Oh let us understand the greatness of God’s provision for us, and in that greatness, read at once our death and our life, our condemnation and our deliverance.”
“Yes; any time, any place, will do for Jesus. His grace is not circumscribed by temple walls, nor tied to ceremonies, nor limited to hours. Samaria, Jericho, Tyre, Jerusalem are all the same to Him. The temple, the highway, the hill-side, the sea-beach, the synagogue, the house, the boat, the graveyard, are all alike to Him and to His grace.”
“Over all Scripture the quickening, life-giving fragrance of His name is defused. Christ and life; life in Christ; Christ our life—these form the very essence, the sum and burden, of the Scriptures. ‘These are they that testify of Me.’”
Check out my review of Light And Truth by clicking here.
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