Love’s Energy

Several years ago my wife and I while in Las Vegas decided to tour Hoover Dam. Needless to say it was a magnificent sight. During the visit we learned about the Dam’s construction and its generation of power.  However, there was something very intriguing that we discovered.  Although it has enormous turbines that are able to produce tons of energy it produces nothing if the gates are closed.  That means its ability to produce energy only happens when the gates are opened and water is allowed to pour through them. A similar truth came to me the first time I visited the Holy Land. The guide took us to the Sea of Galilee which is alive with fish; afterwards he showed us the Dead Sea which is dead—salty, incapable of supporting any life. Both are filled with the very same water from the Jordan River. However, there is a great difference between the two.  The Sea of Galilee gives all its water back. It takes the Jordan in from the north and gives it back to the river in the south. The Dead Sea takes in the water of the Jordan and holds onto all of it giving nothing back. The same can be said of love. It is only energized when given away.  Imagine a young bride being told she is loved by her husband but he never releases that love. Their marriage would lack energy because energy is produced by the gift of love. This is true of any relationship. Oscar Hammerstein in The Sound of Music said it best, “A bell is no bell til you ring it. A song is no song til you sing it. And love in your heart wasn’t put there to stay---Love isn’t love Til you give it away.”  You want to be energized—love God and your neighbor as yourself. In other words give it all away, then you will experience love’s ultimate energy.