As i read through the first few chapters I noticed some pretty awesome stuff. Immediately i was jealous. I wanted a woman to speak some of this poetry about me. Listen to this:
2 Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth— for your love is more delightful than wine. 3 Pleasing is the fragrance of your perfumes; your name is like perfume poured out. No wonder the maidens love you! 4 Take me away with you—let us hurry! Let the king bring me into his chambers.
(This is awesome! Like if i read a girls diary and found this in about me, i would melt, then form again, and marry the heck out of her. I don't know. Maybe that's just me.)
Another portion of these beginning chapters really stuck with me. Song of Solomon 2:7:
7 Daughters of Jerusalem, I charge you by the gazelles and by the does of the field: Do not arouse or awaken love until it so desires.
I was/am always that guy who once he knows a girl likes him he does everything he can to impress her. But i think this is where i fail. I am pretty good at arousing and awakening love when its not time. I can honestly say that i deserve the blame for past relationships failing. I think in my head that its about time I had a girlfriend and don't let God awaken true love in his own time. Reading that verse convicts but also liberates me because i hear the passion in the lovers voice calling out to her beloved. And the way he describes her is pristine and pure.
Song of Solomon 2:2: Like a lily among thorns is my darling among the maidens.
Solomon knows whats up. Seriously. I see how my Dad loves my Mom. Its crazy. I couldn't have had a better example of true love in my life. And now I see the way My Brother loves his wife. He would do anything for her.(Like buy her Layne's chicken fingers and a sonic water to smooth over the birth of their new baby daughter)
Also i look at how Christ loves his church. He would do anything for it. He would suffer 40 days in the desert and not eat for his bride. He would associate himself with sinners and eat with them in order to honor his bride. He would heal women with womanly problems, he would go and press the flesh with the lepers in order that his church might grow. He would be humiliated and beaten in front of his bride and by his bride for the sake of his beloved bride. He would be murdered by the ones who followed him for their sake. He rose three days later and visited his bride. He encouraged his disciples and renewed his brother Peter showing him that he was still the one Jesus loved. He ascended to heaven and permanently sits at the right hand of his Father and eagerly awaits the wedding feast when he gets to see his bride. And his bride will stand in awe of the glorious husband and enjoy an eternal festival celebrating the faithfulness of the Christ.
Song of Solomon 2:3
Like an apple tree among the trees of the forest is my lover among the young men. I delight to sit in his shade, and his fruit is sweet to my taste.
4 comments:
everyone needs some sweet SOS.
several years ago, in my hometown, all the church denominations decided to get together and read through the entire bible publicly, without stopping. you just had to sign up for a time slot, that way no one could "claim" favorite passages or anything and it would be fair.
my dad (who is a worship pastor) and his pastor signed up for back-to-back time slots so they could go together. it just so happened that they were the only 2 who read Song of Songs. my dad was pretty embarrassed and i was like, "why? it's beautiful poetry!" he said, "i know, but there's just something weird about two pastors standing in front of a microphone talking about a woman's breasts."
yeah. awesome.
Valentine's day is a wonderful holiday, you know? it's a time that everyone tells everyone they love them and that people actually seek out a valentine, just for the instant gratification or pleasure of having a valentine. One V-day a couple years ago, a girl gave me the best valentine's card i've ever received, i still have it buried in my closet somewhere. but she had just cut out a simple heart and written the verse 'do not arouse or awaken love until it is so desired'.
i remember sitting in my desk reading the verse over and over again. not listening to a thing my teacher was saying. it was like a whole new world opened up to me. a world of trusting God with even the things that we sometimes hold on the most tightly to. desires, relationships, etc. what a message.
great post marky, it helped me remember that day and regain the strength to daily trust in Him.
Hey Little Brother,
Just for the record, Layne's is MY favorite meal...so not too self-sacrificing there...and our friends brought us that meal.
Anyways, I could go on and on about marriage, pursuing, and biblical relationships, but I'm not going to. We can talk anytime.
I just wanted to say that I'm proud of you and excited that you are thinking through these things. Just be open and stepping back will let God retrain you on what "being the man" in the relationship looks like.
Also, if you or anyone is looking for a good read, I'm reading "Family Driven Faith" by Voddie Baucham, Jr. There is a chapter (I believe chapter 3) on love -- biblical vs. the lie that we've bought into. Man, really blowing me away.
Love you. Glad we got to see you this weekend. Come back when you get a chance.
Mark, you amaze me. I know very few guys that would write something like this. The speaker at beach camp the other year talked about this, and just like broke it down. So often, SOS is the dreaded book that no one seems to regard, but it is a cool book of how things can be great when in the right context.
It is also, like you said, an incredible and so amazing parallel to the way Christ is with the church.
p.s. I started using my blog again! lol
-amy
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