True Love

Then the king said, “Do not kill the child, but give him to the woman who wants him to live, for she is his mother!” [1 Kings 3.27]

The story this verse is part of is amazing all by itself. However, there is another very important truth to be found in Solomon's wisdom...

Solomon allowed God's defining characteristic to define the true mother of the child - love. But make no mistake about it, Solomon was not confused about what true love looked like!

When it comes to life or death, God's choice is always life.

Let me just say that again...

When it comes to life or death, God's choice is ALWAYS life. Life is the precious commodity of love. Here is proof:

There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. [John 15.13]

Look carefully at this scripture for it bears out the fact that life is the precious commodity of love. Love preserves life - always. However, love is willing to give its own life (its most precious commodity) in order to preserve the precious commodity of life in another.

Solomon understood these facts about love and he used them to rightly divide between who was the real mother (real love that preserves life) and who was the imposter mother (unreal love that cares not for life).

We can use the same facts about love to determine what is God's work in the earth and what is not God's work in the earth. These same facts tell us whether or not we are operating in God's real true love or man's unreal love.

True love always preserves the life of others. True love is willing to sacrifice its own life to preserve the life of others.

This is good stuff!

Father, help me to better understand Your love so that I might better navigate life as Your child!