"In him love made its advent to the earth; and the prayer recorded in the seventeenth chapter of John shows plainly that the idea of the Saviour was not that that divine love should take its departure with him from the earth, but that it should abide and have an inextinguishable life in his disciples, from generation to generation, until he should come again.
This, then, is your vocation. To walk by faith, and to walk in love, let these things be one in your experience."
— George Bowen (1816–1888) · The White Sadhu of Bombay"To walk by faith, and to walk in love, let these things be one in your experience."
— George Bowen · Not two walks. One. Faith and love are one motion.✦ One Walk
Not two disciplines practiced at different times. One walk — the way the right foot and the left foot are one walking. The faith Bowen has been teaching since Deuteronomy 33:25 and the love that Guyon and Baker described as the weight drawing the soul to its center — they are the same motion. To separate them is to limp. Together they carry the soul forward.
"What a sublime mission! God on his throne in heaven is love. Love is with him enthroned in heaven; love, in you, wanders over the earth. The whole universe is made for the manifestation of his love; and the universe, as much of it as you will, exists for the manifestation of your love.
It is the law of all created essences; and let there only be in you divine love enthroned, and the whole creation will answer your glance, and say to you, 'Here am I.' It must wait upon you, for it must wait upon love. You are the follower of Christ; consequently you live to love."
— George Bowen (1816–1888)✦ Love Wanders the Earth in You
God's love is enthroned in heaven. But in the believer, it wanders the earth — through the streets of Caldas da Rainha, through the packing of boxes, through the ordinary hours. The whole creation exists for the manifestation of that love. Baker said the means and the end are the same. Bowen confirms it: you live to love. That is the vocation. That is the mission. Not a task added to life but the purpose life was made for.
"You are surrounded by a world of unloving and unlovely beings; and how can you walk in love here? Consider that formerly you found no difficulty in loving yourself; in spite of all the repulsive things you knew about yourself, you went on loving yourself, with an unwavering steadfastness.
Consider, again, that Christ sets you the example. Is the servant greater than his Lord? Do you presume to despise what he regards? Did he bring too much love down from heaven, and must you send some of it back?
Is there any better way of bringing men to be lovely, than this very way of love? Finally, Is there any habit more enriching and gladdening to your own nature, than this sacred habit of love?"
— George Bowen (1816–1888)"Did he bring too much love down from heaven, and must you send some of it back?"
— George Bowen · The question that ends every excuse for withholding love"'I cannot tutor my affections,' you say; 'I cannot by any word of command constrain my heart to love.'
Well, then, try this way. Be filled with the knowledge of Christ's love to you. Feed upon this food; the table is spread, and there is no stinted supply. Love to him will follow without difficulty.
Then, as he is in heaven and his people are on earth, love him in them. In them he is near."
— George Bowen (1816–1888)✦ The Heart Cannot Be Commanded but It Can Be Fed
You cannot command the heart to love. But you can feed it. And the food is not instruction — it is the knowledge of His love to you. Not love in general. His love to you specifically. The 500 denari forgiven. The midnight hospital. The persistent knocking at the closed door. The sun that never grew weary of rising.
Feed on that, Bowen says, and love follows without difficulty. The heart filled with the knowledge of being loved does not need to be commanded to love. It overflows. The fonte de vida of Proverbs 10:11. The river running to the sea by the weight of love.
And the closing — love him in them. In them he is near. Love Christ in His people. The crew. The brethren. The community of those who also walk. He is in heaven — but in them, He is near. The love is not abstract. It is practiced in the people right next to you.
One Walk
Faith and love are one motion. Not two disciplines practiced separately. The right foot and the left foot. Together they carry the soul forward. Apart, it limps.
Feed upon This Food
The heart cannot be commanded to love. But it can be fed. Be filled with the knowledge of Christ's love to you. Love will follow without difficulty. The table is spread. No stinted supply.
In Them He Is Near
Christ is in heaven. His people are on earth. Love Him in them. The love is not abstract. It is practiced in the people right next to you. In them, He is near.