Day 4
The Cross and Love
During the
1720’s Count Nicholas von Zinzendorf visited a Dusseldorf
All this I did for thee,
What hast
thou done for Me?
Zinzendorf’s
heart was affected. Christ’s love as
demonstrated in the cross became the constraining power of his life, as 2
Corinthians 5:14 states, “The love of Christ constrains (compels) me.” “I have,” he exclaimed, “but one passion, tis
He and He only.” It was the dying love
of Christ mastering his life that fitted Zinzendorf for the work he had to do.
Zinzendorf
returned home to provide spiritual leadership for about three hundred refugees
from religious persecution, the majority of which were Moravians, spiritual
descendents of the Czech martyr Jon Hus.
The goal of Zinzendorf and the elders was to lead their souls deeper
into the love of Christ, into which they had been baptized.
In August 1727
the community experienced a breakthrough of love and unity during a special
Lord’s Supper celebration. They asked
the Lord to “keep us in the saving power of His grace, and not allow a single
soul to be drawn away to itself and its own merits from that Blood-and-cross
theology, on which our salvation depends.
Following this
experience the Moravian brethren were possessed by a zeal for missions. The Spirit breathed in power on the young and
the old. People’s hearts were filled
with a burning love for the Savior who died for them. They emphasized Isaiah 53:10-12 as their
chief incentive, from which they drew their battle cry, “To win for the Lamb
that was slain the reward of His sufferings.”
They started a 24-hour prayer vigil which lasted 100 years.
During the following 25 years they sent out
more than 100 missionaries. It is worth
noting that this is before the start of the modern missions movement.
Some of these
Moravian missionaries met John Wesley on a boat bound for America
William Carey,
the “Father of modern missions,” was also greatly influenced by Moravian
missionaries. Carey went on, against the
overwhelming opposition of his church associates, to be the founder of a
missions movement that really continues, in many different waves and
manifestations, to this day. [1]
Think about
this. One artist painted to communicate
his deep love for Jesus. One man’s faith caught fire during this encounter with
the suffering Savior and
became the spark for a group of three hundred refugees to catch fire with
a “blood and cross” motivation that
impacted the entire world for Christ.
Our desire is that of the Moravian leaders, to lead our souls deeper
into the death of Christ. It is certain that,
if we go there, we will be changed.
Whether we impact people around the world, in our own homes, or in our
communities, we will be people of new impact and power. Author John Stott says that the cross is “the
blazing fire at which the flame of our love is kindled, but we have to get near
enough to it for its sparks to fall on us.[2]
Questions for Reflection
Re-read John Stott’s words
in the last sentence of the devotional.
How will the cross kindle the flame of our love?
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Specifically, if the flame
of our love is kindled by the cross, how will this affect this week’s theme,
love keeps no record of wrongs?
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The Moravian’s chief incentive was Isaiah 53:10-12. Read and reflect and ask the Lord to motivate
you to a deeper and fuller love and service through the truth of the
cross.
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