Let him
kiss me with the kisses of his mouth: for thy love is better than wine.
Because of the savour of thy good ointments thy name is as ointment poured
forth, therefore do the virgins love thee. Draw me, we will run after thee:
the king hath brought me into his chambers: we will be glad and rejoice
in thee, we will remember thy love more than wine: the upright love thee.
Song
1:2-4.
Our Lord has
done a marvelous work for us in dying for our salvation. Our expression
of appreciation is certainly appropriate. But behind our talk are we taking
love for granted? Are we content to have escaped our punishment without
experiencing an overwhelming personal attraction to the One who lived and
died for us? Or does our love deepen day by day'.) Does it prompt us to
ask Him to lead us away.) And when led, do we follow on in faith even when
the path seems rough and hopeless?
We need often
to return to the cross, to recall His superlative love and the choice voluntarily
made for us. Then the taste of His love will grow ever sweeter, continuing
on through eternity! "And this is eternal life, that they may know You,
the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent" (John 17:3).
My lover
is mine and I am his.... Many waters cannot quench love; rivers cannot
wash it away. If one were to give all the wealth of his house for love,
it would be utterly scorned. Song 2:16a;8:7, NIV
Can you really
love someone without wanting their happiness and giving anything that would
bring it? Human relationships are often faulty and when faced with an expectation
that would hurt us unnecessarily, we draw back our giving – and our love.
In good marriages, the loving and trusting and giving grow. The relationship
moves toward a more and more complete giving of ourselves to our mate.
"My beloved is mine, and I am his." Ultimately, we give our wife or husband
(or friend) the right to expect whatever is asked of us. At the same time,
our own true love never asks for unnecessary sacrifice.
What about
our relationship with our divine Beloved? As we love, we spend time with
our Lord. We give ourselves completely in intelligent, trusting obedience.
Jesus said, "If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will
love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him." And, "If
you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish and
it will be given you" (John 14:23; 15:7, NIV).
Then, in the
joy of a mature experience, we can exclaim, "I belong to my lover, and
his desire is for me. Come my lover, let us go to the countryside, let
us spend the night in the villages"
(Song 7: 10, 11, NIV).
I charge
you, O daughters of Jerusalem ... do not stir up nor awaken love until
it pleases. Song 2:7.
We may appropriately apply the wisdom of this charge to the principle expressed
in the seventh commandment: "You shall not commit adultery (Ex. 20:14).
" In our day, homornal drives, egged on by our cultures, begin enticing
youth into going together when they are far from being emotionally, intellectually,
and spiritually mature. The bride of Solomon would tell us that love relationships
meeting fulfillment as part of the marriage responsibility can wait. Self
denial may seem unpleasant at the moment, but God's way always leads to
the deepest and most permanent happiness. |