Scarcely had I passed them when I found the one my heart loves. I held him and would not let him go till I had brought him to my mother’s house, to the room of the one who conceived me (Song of Solomon 3:4).
The English Standard Version (ESV) translated this passage as “Scarcely had I passed them when I found him whom my soul loves. I held him, and would not let him go until I had brought him into my mother's house, and into the chamber of her who conceived me” (Song of Solomon 3:4).
In this passage, Solomon’s wife is saying that she had found her love in Solomon. The ESV states that she had found the one her soul loves and the NIV translates the same word to be the one her heart loves. For this article, we will be utilizing the ESV’s translation of Song of Solomon 3:4.
What Does ‘Love Comes from the Soul’ Mean?
Song of Solomon is a Book of the Bible describing the love between a husband and a wife. In an allegorical sense, this book highlights and symbolizes the love Jesus has for the Church. Song of Solomon urges the believer to emulate the same love Jesus has for the Church.
Marriage between a man and a woman is a sacred covenant before God and should be treated with the utmost respect. In marriage, there will be tough times between the wife and the husband; however, marriages need to be built upon God and His Word.
Likewise, in all relationships, including family relationships, marriages, and friendships, believers are to love one another as Jesus loves us.
The Importance of the Human Soul
Each human being is born with a soul. At the time of death, the body dies, but the soul returns to God (Ecclesiastes 12:7). The soul of a person is eternal and immaterial. This means that our souls will continue to live on forever.
Our very beings are rooted in our souls as our souls contain our emotions, feelings, and desires. Our hearts are deeply connected to our souls, which means love does stem from our souls; however, love also comes from our minds.
Where Does Love Come From?
Love comes from the heart, soul, and mind. This is why the NIV and the ESV are so similar with the former utilizing “heart,” while the other utilizes “soul.” The soul and the heart are very much connected in the inner workings of our beings.
Everything within the heart comes from the soul as “The heart is the factory of our soul that generates all desire, thought, emotion, and action.” Therefore, in this sense, the heart is directly related to the soul. As stated correctly by Glory Dy, “The soul is basically our mind, our emotions, and our will. It is who we are as human beings.”
Love can come from the soul; however, love is not always based on feelings. Oftentimes loving others can be hard. Love is a choice we have to intentionally make. If we do not love others, we are not truly obeying God (James 2:8).
Loving others is not strictly based on how we feel about another person. Even if you do not like the person, Christians are still to love others. Just as Jesus gave up His life for us, we should be willing to lay down our lives for others (1 John 3:16). We can only do this if we truly love others with our mind, heart, and soul.
Love is not based on how other people treat us. Love is the conscious decision to love others even when it is hard.
When we choose to love others, we are following God. 1 John 4:9-11 says, “This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.”
Part of loving one another is forgiving others (Ephesians 4:32). We can forgive others out of a pure heart and a conscious decision to forgive others as God has forgiven us in Christ.
How to Love Others
Even though the instance of Song of Solomon 3:4 refers to the marriage between a man and a woman, all believers’ sense of love comes from their soul, heart, and mind. As new creations in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17), we are to love others as God loves us. Jesus tells us that people will know we are His disciples if we love others (John 13:35).
The Holy Spirit resides inside each believer, and He can help us love God and others correctly. Jesus tells us that the two greatest commands are to “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” and to “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:37, 39). The love we have for others does come from our souls, yet it also comes from our hearts and minds.
The human soul and spirit are unique, amazing creations of Christ through which we are able to have emotions, feelings, and desires. The world may advocate love comes from a variety of sources such as evolutionary processes or materialism; however, the Bible tells us differently.
Human beings are unique creations created in God’s Image (Genesis 1:27). This means we have emotions, such as sadness, pain, and love. Love does come from our soul, heart, and mind. It is important for all believers to understand the true source of love, which is God.
As creations of Christ, we are only able to love because God Himself is love (1 John 4:8). God created us with the ability to love and this love does come from our souls, hearts, and minds.
For further reading:
Should All We Do Be Done in Love?
Love from the Garden to the Silver Screen
What Does Love in Action Look Like?
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