The Power of Love

Those who have never experienced true love cannot imagine its power. It is so powerful that Solomon said that it is “as strong as death.” It is not mere emotion but much deeper, cutting to the core of our being. It consumes us, body, soul, and spirit.

Many emotions seem similar to love. Admiration. Friendship. Interest. Lust. But true love strikes deeper. It cannot be extinguished or quenched, no matter how many waters may be thrown onto it. If entire rivers were to be redirected onto love they would not overflow.

It is also priceless. This is a love that cannot be measured or counted. But the Bible tells us that “if a man were to give all the riches of his house for love, it would be utterly despised.” True love cannot be purchased. It is about heart and spirit. Our very lives. Things that money cannot buy.

The Bible tells us true love is not a passing feeling but an entirely new way of living. It is a byproduct not of human emotion but fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22). This Spirit-inspired love is patient and kind. Never jealous or arrogant. It “never fails.” Faith, hope, and love may abide, “but the greatest of these is love” (1 Corinthians 13:4-13).

Solomon may seem to have written about romantic love. But ultimately he described a love that can come only from God, the kind of love that He has for us, but also a picture of the kind of love we need to have for Him. A love of passion and selfless devotion. Giving and not receiving. A love that consumes us. That changes our lives.