_THE LORD'S OWN_
JOHN xv. 11-25.
The "Lord's own" possess the Lord's love. "_I have loved you._" And love
is not a beautiful sentiment, a passive rainbow stretched over the realm
of human life. It is a glorious, active energy, infinitely more powerful
than electricity, and always besieging the gates of the soul, or
ministering to its manifold needs. Love is the greatest force in the
world.
And the "Lord's own" are taken into the inner circle of intimacy, where
the deepest secrets dwell. We are not kept on the door-step, or left
standing in the hall, or limited to one or two "public rooms"; we are
privileged to enter the King's privacy, and be nourished at the King's
table, and listen to the King's table-talk concerning "all things" which
He has heard of the Father. We have "the glorious liberty of _the
children_ of God."
And the "Lord's own" will experience the world's hatred. "_Therefore the
world hateth you._" Our very friendship with the Lord pronounces judgment
on the world, and its hostility is aroused. If we are "partakers of the
glory" we shall most assuredly be "partakers of the sufferings of
Christ."