03.27.06

The Power To Love Is It’s Own Reward

 “If a man would give for love All the wealth of his house, It would be utterly despised.”       -Song of Solomon 8:7 

Picture a young couple with five million dollars in the bank who own a five-million-dollar house. One day this couple learns that their five-year-old daughter has a terminal illness. The doctor informs them that it will cost everything they have to successfully treat their child – their entire bank account, their home, their stocks – everything. So they liquidate their home , their stocks – everything. So they liquidate their home and belongings and use all ten million dollars, and their daughter is saved. One day they meet someone who says, “That was incredible what you did for your daughter.”

With a gentle rebuke the parents reply, “No, what we did for our daughter was nothing, because we did it for love.” The same principle applies to this scripture. If a man has given up everything he has accumulated, he will despise the notion that it was somehow a noble act. He acted because he was totally preoccupied with the love of another. Next to such love, money has no value. He might answer such a question as follows: “I consider what I gave up to be worthless compared to the love I have for my daughter.”

The apostle Paul said that he considered his sacrifice for Christ rubbish compared to the excellency of experiencing the beauty of Jesus. (see Philippians 3:8) The people said to him, “Paul, you had such a brilliant career.” To Paul it meant nothing when weighed against what the savior gave for Him. The uncreated God became human because He burned with a desire for us. He crowns us with His eternal glory. So what if Paul gave up a would-be-famous career? True love despises the recognition for sacrifices made for love.

Why? Because it was the sacrifice of love. The reward of a true lover is the power to love. At this point of love, no self-recognition is sought or wanted.

In essence, the parents in our illustration were saying, “We love our daughter, and that is all that matters; the house and money mean nothing.” In the same manner, when men and women are so preoccupied with the love and beauty of Jesus, the power to respond in wholehearted love toward God is the only reward they want. Martyrs will gladly give their lives and see their act of supreme devotion as God’s gift of grace to them, which enables them to operate in supernatural love under pressure. The power to love is our great reward.