Jack Hibbs Weekly Devotional (February 17, 2025) Extraordinary Love.
Song of Solomon 8:6-7: “Set me as a seal upon your heart, as a seal upon your arm; for love is as strong as death, jealousy as cruel as the grave; its flames are flames of fire, a most vehement flame. Many waters cannot quench love, nor can the floods drown it. If a man would give for love all the wealth of his house, it would be utterly despised.”
Love—you can be wealthy and still not acquire it. You can be beautiful and never experience it. All your accomplishments and efforts cannot guarantee you will feel its touch. Yet, the greatest need of the human heart is not elusive. The moment you say yes to Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, He sets the seal of the Holy Spirit upon you—His pledge that He is yours and you are His forever. And what an extraordinary love it is!
Lovers will tattoo one another’s names on themselves to profess their devotion, but Jesus gave His hands to be pierced for you. “See, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands” (Isaiah 49:16). On Calvary’s cross, Jesus made the way for you to experience love beyond human passion or imagination. Fire cannot quench it, nor the flood of circumstance wash it away (Romans 8:38-39).
Do you remember how you first responded to Christ’s love? It was committed, intense, and, above all, passionate and without reservation. But one of the dangers of love is that you can easily neglect it. Perhaps you’ve been the object of His affection for many years, yet your affection has cooled because you’ve replaced Him with other loves. Believer, God is jealous for you—make Him your first love.
The cross is where perfect Love met your deepest need. Revisit Christ’s sacrifice for you and ponder its depths, revel in it, and reignite the flames of your love once again.
