Love is as strong as death, its jealousy unyielding as the grave. It burns like blazing fire, like a mighty flame. Many waters cannot quench love; rivers cannot wash it away. If one were to give all the wealth of his house for love, it would be utterly scorned. (Song of Solomon 8:6–7, NIV 1984).
My Musings – There are many things that are called love but are less than poor counterfeits. None can claim to be “as strong as death.” They may burn “like blazing fire” for a time, but it doesn’t take “many waters” to “quench,” to “wash it away,” or for it to be “easily scorned.”
There is, however, a love that is stronger than death. That did not yield to “the grave” but rather conquered death. That can save us from the “blazing fire” of hell “where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.” (Luke 9:48, NIV 1984). Though it cost “all the wealth of [God’s] house,” His only begotten Son, it is “utterly scorned” by most, in favor of the counterfeits that do not last.
“If that isn’t love the ocean is dry.
There’re no stars in the sky.
And the sparrow can’t fly!
If that isn’t love then heaven’s a myth.
There’s no feeling like this.
If that isn’t love.” – If That Isn’t Love, Dottie Rambo
My Advice – Though we cannot replicate that kind of love, we must strive to imitate it. Here are some guidelines.
“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.” (1 Corinthians 13:4–8, NIV 1984).
“Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you! See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your [ways] are ever before me.” (Isaiah 49:15–16, NIV 1984).
“But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.” (1 Corinthians 13:8, 13, NIV 1984).
We spend the better part of a lifetime pursuing love that rarely lasts a lifetime, rather than a “love [that] never fails]. If that isn’t love, nothing is.
The Brew Is A Musing 