“Many waters cannot quench love, neither can the floods drown it….” (Song of Solomon 8:7) The wise man spoke of love’s unequalled power, much as did the Apostle centuries later, writing that “now abideth faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.” (I Cor. 13:13)
Any pastor worthy of his calling would testify freely to this truth. I once read the testimony of a young father who said he was saved as a young boy but got away from the Lord and ended up driving a beer truck in Lynchburg, Virginia. One day, as he was driving his truck on a delivery, he passed Dr. Jerry Falwell, pastor of Thomas Road Baptist Church, who waved at him with a friendly smile. “It broke my heart,” the man said. “We had just had a boy; my wife had said, ‘We’ve got to get in church.’ I believe the Lord would have killed me if I didn’t. Dr. Falwell, by waving, showed me, for the first time, some love. We went to church, and I rededicated my life to the Lord.” The power of love.
The late Dr. Howard Hendricks, professor for half-a-century at Dallas Theological Seminary, once described how love lassoed him as a young “hood” growing up on the streets of Philadelphia: “Walt found me playing marbles on the street. That Sunday school teacher got involved with me, and beat me in every game we played. I lost my marbles early in life, but when we were through, I wanted to follow him anywhere he went! He found 11 of us on the street; 9 of us are in full-time service today. He never got past the 6th grade; I couldn’t tell you one thing he said. But I know this, he loved me!” The power of love!
Simple things. A missionary once served on a field where the custom was to sit on the floor, something this devoted missionary was not used to. One of her loving pupils sensed what she needed and sat down behind her, supporting the back of the teacher with her own body. But the pupil realized that the teacher was not committing herself with sufficient weight to get the benefit of the offered help, so the girl whispered, “If you love me, lean hard.” A simple gesture, but proof of a caring heart. The power of love!
Attorney David Gibbs told of a U.S. senator who had opposed everything Christian and had a glaring disdain for pastors. One time, Gibbs had a delegation of students visiting the Capitol, and he had arranged for them to meet their senator. Gibbs’ nemesis heard they were coming and tried every way possible to not be present when they arrived. But, alas! The delegation arrived earlier than expected, and the senator was there when they got to his office. He got into a heated exchange with Gibbs, accusing him of hiring actors to harass him. Gibbs said, “I wouldn’t pay a kid 5cents to meet you!” At that point, a little girl tugged at the senator’s coat and said, “I’m not an actor. I just wanted to give you a gift because I love you. I saved my money for a year to come give this gift to you.” Gibbs said that, at that point, the senator lost it. He voted with Gibbs on every issue impacting Christians for the next 10 years. The power of love!
“…but the greatest of these is love.” (I Cor. 13:13)
YOU and GOD 