“I grieve for you, Jonathan my brother; you were very dear to me.  Your love for me was wonderful, more wonderful than that of women.”  2 Samuel 1:26

Soon to be King David, upon hearing of the death of Jonathan, the son of Saul, and the one with whom his soul had been knit by the Lord, said something about the love that they had shared. What finally struck me after many years of thinking about their clarion love and connection was that the love they shared was better than the “love of women”.

This is not about how men love women nor is it about gay males. No, it is about a much greater love than that. This is about the way that women love. These were two valiant warriors, yet where love was concerned they did not love one another as might be expected in some Good Ole boys club kind of a way. Rather, this invites us to take another look at the way that women love.

Ultimately, all those who are found in Christ are in Him and He in them as being His bride. There is a quality of love found in women that is very rarely found in men. This passage from the Old Testament is rare if not unique, and demands that we, as men, take another look at how we love.

It is enough that David has put it this way, without me trying to expound on the difference. I leave it to you to contemplate what this must mean. Perhaps once we understood it, we would leave off from our heavy-handed male lover roles, and find ourselves moving toward this truly amazing kind of love that is found in the hearts of women.

Lord, help us to melt into this feminine way of loving in time so that “the world might know.”

Love!

• By Jay Ferris, originally posted March 2013