The two women were so convincing that it was hard to tell which one was telling the truth. The king heard each story thoughtfully and carefully. Both stories moved him deeply and he was at a loss as to who was telling the truth. Then, an inspired thought crossed his mind: he would put them to the test. Command that the child be cut in half, he thought; then the true mother would be revealed.

When we think of young Solomon, it is fascinating to see how God answered his prayer for wisdom. Solomon’s request was answered through two women disputing over a child, showing him what truth is. Only one thing helped him discern truth: love. Love, plain and simple, would help the new king differentiate between the true and the false.

The strongest of all bonds, love stems from our Creator. Since God is love, love is the foundation of His universe. All of God’s creation is an expression of His love, and as such, creation can only be truly functional while operating by it. Human relationships are connected through this divine ability to love, but only to a degree; because what we call love—human love—falls dismally short of God’s love. And yet, imperfect as it is, human love still manages to hold us together.

There are many opinions about the Creator of the universe. Satan has laid claim upon us and acts in the place of God. What kind of God is the true God? Like Solomon, it is only through love that we may tell the true from the false.

When Jesus said, “And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have send,” (John 17: 3), He indicated that there was an impostor. Since God is the only true God, it stands to reason that there is a false god. But the Creator stands out from the false god in a very particular way. Like the true mother in Solomon’s story, the true God would rather suffer loss then allow the child to perish.

Being the express image of God (Hebrews 1: 3), Jesus is the physical reality of His unfathomable love. He is the measuring stick through which we may discern the true God from the false god. Christ is the visible manifestation of the extent to which God was willing to go in order to save us from certain destruction. Thus, when we see His heart we see God’s heart.

Like the two women in Solomon’s court disputing over the child, God and Satan are disputing over the human race. But we may only discern the true parent when we look into the hearts of both parties. Only love will allow us to discern the truth. Jesus Himself points this out when He says:

10 The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.

11 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep.

17 “Therefore My Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it again (John 10: 10, 11, 17).

Like the true mother in Solomon’s court, Jesus was willing to altogether lose out rather than allow us to get harmed. He was willing to give His own life so that we may have life. He was willing to suffer the excruciating pain of the cross so that we may be saved.

Since we were made in God’s image, we, as children and parents, can have an understanding of God’s love, even if we are limited by sin. Our human relationships were meant to bring us close to the knowledge of the heart of God. God’s love is what we need most in our lives. Without it, we perish just as much as we would without water and air. Thus, we need to ask God to bathe us in His love. We need to be filled with His love till, through us, it spills out into the world. Then earth will indeed be “filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD as the water cover the sea” (Habakkuk 2: 14).

Denice
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