In the Hebrew scriptures, two women come before a king, both claiming the same baby as their own. There is no witness, no proof. Only two people who want the same thing and a child caught between them. The king proposes a terrible solution: divide the baby in two, give half to each.
One woman agrees.
The other cries out and says, βNoβgive the child to her. Just let the baby live.β
The king knows immediately who the mother is.
Not because she wanted the child moreβbut because she was willing to lose him for his sake.
That story has survived for thousands of years because it exposes something very uncomfortable: love reveals itself not in possession, but in release. The false claimant prefers shared loss over being without. The true mother chooses the childβs wholeness over her own claim.
