Andrew Murray: Give Access tothe Love of Jesus

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“Brother, sister, ask God to baptize you with the Spirit of love, and love will find its way. Love is a fire that will burn through every difficulty. You may be a shy, hesitating man, who cannot speak well, but love can burn through everything. God fill us with love! We need it for our work.

You have read many a touching story of love expressed, and you have said, How beautiful! I heard one not long ago. A lady had been asked to speak at a Rescue Home where there were a number of poor women. As she arrived there and got to the window with the matron, she saw outside a wretched object sitting, and asked:

“Who is that?” The matron answered: “She has been into the house thirty or forty times, and she has always gone away again. Nothing can be done with her, she is so low and hard.” But the lady said: “She must come in.”

The matron then said: “We have been waiting for you, and the company is assembled, and you have only an hour for the address.” The lady replied: “No, this is of more importance”; and she went outside where the woman was sitting and said: “My sister, what is the matter?”

“I am not your sister,” was the reply. Then the lady laid her hand on her, and said: “Yes, I am your sister, and I love you”; and so she spoke until the heart of the poor woman was touched.

The conversation lasted some time, and the company were waiting patiently. Ultimately the lady brought the woman into the room. There was the poor wretched, degraded creature, full of shame. 

She would not sit on a chair, but sat down on a stool beside the speaker’s seat, and she let her lean against her, with her arms around the poor woman’s neck, while she spoke to the assembled people. 

And that love touched the woman’s heart; she had found one who really loved her, and that love gave access to the love of Jesus.”

Andrew Murray (1828-1917) in Absolute Surrender (Chicago: Moody Press, 1895) 16-17. Download this classic work in PDF form freely here. 

This is the fifth of seven posts from this book at this time. Each day I will conclude with the Surrender Novena (in bold italics). Pray it daily. See what happens.

Our header photos shift with my travels. I am driving to North Dakota today for five days of pheasant hunting. I always snap a photo at the border crossing.

I take a walk with the dog at the border every year and pause to thank God for the privilege of hunting.

Pheasant hunting relates to today's post in one word: access. Without access to fields, I cannot hunt. And without access to God's love, people cannot take hold of life.

If you think of me, do pray for safe and fruitful hunting for me and my German Shorthair Pointer, Grace, over the next five days. Now we turn today's post.

Jesus moved toward people in need with compassion. What is compassion? It is action that moves towards brokenness with love. And nothing can touch love!

As Murray rightly notes, it is “a fire that will burn through every difficulty.” I would say love is Christian generosity in its purest form. 

Our human tendency is to move away from brokenness. We reason that the situation is someone else’s responsibility to address, or someone else’s problem to solve.

Notice the person in need in this story had appeared 30 or 40 times. But it took one person extending love to win the sister. You know why I think the others failed?

Hurting people are not a problem to be ignored or solved, they are people to be greeted and loved. When we love them well, we open access to the love of Jesus.

I am not writing this as if I have it all figured out. I have room for growth in this area as much as anyone. I just know that before I minister I always pray the same prayer.

Father in heaven, fill me with your Spirit and love to speak truth in love, in Jesus name. Amen. 

Now, I think I need to pray this all the time so I serve as a conduit of love.

I pray today that God baptizes you with love so it saturates every part of your being. And as you bless others, I pray you open access to the love of Jesus.

You may be the only Jesus some people will ever see. But you have to let God’s love flow through you for it to happen.

Jesus, I surrender myself to you, take care of everything. Amen.