If a man would give for love all the wealth of his house, it would be utterly despised. —Song of Solomon 8:7, NKJV
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 and belongings and use all ten million dollars, and their daughter is saved. The apostle Paul said that he considered his sacrifice for Christ as rubbish compared to the excellency of experiencing the beauty of Jesus. (See Philippians 3:8.) Why? Because it was the sacrifice of love. 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.
{ PRAYER STARTER }
Holy Spirit, teach me to be so preoccupied with the love and beauty of Jesus that I have the power to respond to His love with wholehearted devotion to Him.
The reward of a true lover is the power to love.
