July 27, 2021 8:00 pm
In 2020, Alyssa Mendoza received a surprising email from her father in the middle of the night. The message had instructions about what to do for her mother on her parents’ twenty-fifth anniversary. Why was this shocking? Alyssa’s father had passed away ten months earlier. She discovered that he had written and scheduled the email while he was sick, knowing he might not be there. He’d also arranged and paid for flowers to be sent to his wife for upcoming years on her birthday, future anniversaries, and Valentine’s Day.
This story could stand as an example of the kind of love that’s described in detail in Song of Songs. “Love is as strong as death, its jealousy unyielding as the grave” (8:6). Comparing graves and death to love seems odd, but they’re strong because they don’t give up their captives. However, neither will true love give up the loved one. The book reaches its peak in these verses, describing marital love as one so strong that “many waters cannot quench [it]” (v. 7).
Throughout the Bible, the love of a husband and wife is compared to God’s love (Isaiah 54:5; Ephesians 5:25; Revelation 21:2). Jesus is the groom and the church is His bride. God showed His love for us by sending Christ to face death so we wouldn’t have to die for our sins (John 3:16). Whether we’re married or single, we can remember that God’s love is stronger than anything we could imagine.
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Welcome to this Wednesday edition of the Our Daily Bread devotional.
Today's reading is titled God's Love is Stronger, and it was written by Julie Schwab. In 2020, Alyssa Mendoza received a surprising email from her father in the middle of the night. The message had instructions about what to do for her mother on her parents' 25th anniversary.
Why was this shocking? Alyssa's father had passed away 10 months earlier. She discovered that he'd written and scheduled the email while he was sick, knowing he might not be there.
He'd also arranged and paid for flowers to be sent to his wife for upcoming years on her birthday, future anniversaries, and Valentine's Day. This story could stand as an example of the kind of love that's described in detail in Song of Songs. Love is as strong as death, its jealousy unyielding as the grave. Comparing graves and death to love seems odd, but they're strong because they don't give up their captives.
However, neither will true love give up the loved one. The book reaches its peak in verses 6 and 7, describing marital love as one so strong that many waters cannot quench it. Throughout the Bible, the love of a husband and wife is compared to God's love. Jesus is the groom and the church is his bride. God showed his love for us by sending Christ to face death so we wouldn't have to die for our sins. Whether we're married or single, we can remember that God's love is stronger than anything we could imagine.
Today's Our Daily Bread devotional scripture reading is from Song of Songs, chapter 8, verses 6 and 7. Place me like a seal over your heart, like a seal on your arm, for love is as strong as death, its jealousy unyielding as the grave. It burns like blazing fire, like a mighty flame. Many waters cannot quench love.
Rivers cannot sweep it away. If one were to give all the wealth of one's house for love, it would be utterly scorned. Let's pray. Dear God, your love indeed is stronger than anything we can imagine. Thank you for seeking us out and restoring us to a right relationship with you. Help us to show this kind of love to others and point them to you as the reason we are able to love. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.
Whisper: medium.en / 2023-09-19 13:29:12 / 2023-09-19 13:30:32 / 1