SOS 8:6,7 – Set me as a seal upon thine heart, as a seal upon thine arm: for love is strong as death; jealousy is cruel as the grave: the coals thereof are coals of fire, which hath a most vehement flame.
Lovers have been known to do some crazy things. Now I am not talking about the Romeo and Juliet kind of crazy love, I’m thinking about something much crazier than that. I am talking about love that possessed Steven to preach even when facing being stoned to death, and Peter who insisted to be crucified upside down rather than die the same way as his Lord, and of course Paul and Silas who worshipped even after being beaten and threatened to cease and desist. Yes love can bring us to do crazy things. Love causes us to worship publicly, give our finances to the work of God, and even change a career if necessary to follow the Lord. Here is how Ambrose described this love some 1600 years ago.
“Love ought to exist in us in such a fashion that we are not called away from Christ by any dangers. For it is written, “Much water cannot shut out love, and floods will not confine it,” because the soul of the lover passes through the torrent. No storm, no profound danger, no fear of death or of punishment diminishes the strength of love; in such happenings as we are tested, in them lies the happy life, even though it is deluged by many dangers. For the wise person is not broken by bodily ills nor is he disturbed by misfortunes, but he remains happy even amid troubles. Bodily adversities do not diminish the gift of the happy life or take away anything from its sweetness. For the happiness of life does not lie in bodily pleasure, but in a conscience pure of every stain of sin, and in the mind of the one who knows that the good is also the pleasurable, even though it is harsh, and that what is shameful does not give delight, even though it is sweet.”
So what kind of love is this anyway? This is not natural love or human love but it is the love of God that has been poured into our hearts. We love Him because He first loved us. His love captured us, transformed us, and now constrains us to walk in the ancient paths. This love is unquenchable because it is the very love of God.
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God is love and encountering Him on His terms, in line with His word, with a vision beyond the temporary is where we can receive all that’s required, lacking nothing. The good news, we can get better at receiving, because God’s love produces a wisdom unlike anything of this world. The foolish desires fade as the time in His presence grows and the unveiling and positioning of His perfect plan for each of us unfolds, producing new life all around us, His love shared!