Just a simple reminder today of the faithfulness of Christ's love. We hear the Gospel often (although not enough!) and we tend to become desensitized to it. I pray that your love for Christ and His glory are renewed.
I've been studying Song of Solomon in my Psalms and Wisdom Books class here at Grove City and the allegory that it makes to the love of Christ for His Bride and the love of the Bride (the Church - that's us!) for Christ, our Bridegroom is so deep, so real, so vibrant. Here's the second half of the paper I had to write for this class:
"We all want to be loved. We all want someone to love us unconditionally, with words and actions and in truth. We want to know that we have value and worth in someone’s eyes. We want to love someone the way the Beloved one loves her Lover and we want someone to love us the way the Lover in Song of Solomon loves this Shulamite woman. But Song of Solomon isn’t just a love story about one king and his dear one. It is also an allegorical poem – it’s a poem that expresses the nature of God’s love for us and which puts into words the type of love that we should have for God the Father.
In chapter one of Song of Solomon, the Lover speaks to his Beloved, telling her she is the most beautiful of women, complimenting her again and again. This is the love the Lord has for us. He draws us to himself (Song of Solomon 1:4), and as it states in Hosea 2:14, “Therefore I [the Lord] will allure her [His Bride]”. He delights in us and finds us beautiful. Ezekiel 16:14 tells the Bride of the Lord, “Your fame went out among the nations because of your beauty, for it was perfect through My splendor which I had bestowed on you,' says the Lord God.” Knowing that the Lord of the Universe has this kind of love for you is of exceeding value. When you feel unloved, discouraged, disappointed, remember the perfect love that the Father has for you.
The Lord’s love is not simply spoken of, however, in words which you must work to remember, repeat to yourself and attempt to believe. He demonstrates His love through action, for “God shows His own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8) The work of Jesus on the Cross is what allows you to stand before God free from condemnation, as promised in Romans 8:1, “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” Jesus' spotless righteousness is how the Lord sees you and why He is able to pour out His abundant love on you. You do not have to work for this love, or earn it, or beg for it. It is always yours, free and sincere. This is why in verse 5 of Song of Solomon one, the beloved woman can say, “I am very dark, but lovely.” Though we are dark with sin, and our hearts are black with filth, we are lovely in the eyes of God because He sees only Christ’s perfect righteousness.
In Song of Solomon, we are reminded that the Lover is not alone – there is also a ‘lovee’ who returns his love in full. The bride in this poem says the love her Lover has for her is better than wine – more intoxicating, more invigorating, more enjoyable. She loves his very name and longs to be with him. She finds her Loved one beautiful and rejoices to tell him so. If we, then, are associated with the Beloved one, as the Bride of Christ, then what we see here is that we are to return the love God has for us. John Piper describes the birth of love for God within us in this way, “Because of the excellence and perfection of God's character, those who are truly born again will naturally cherish and treasure God. For conversion is the awakening of a taste and love for God in our hearts.” When we are covered by Christ’s sacrifice, a love for God and His beauty will grow in us. We will desire to know Him, love Him and be with Him. As David states in Psalm 63:1, “O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you.” Why do we love God? The answer is simple: “Because He is magnificently wonderful and supremely excellent; because He is a worthy God” (Piper). “We love because He first loved us” (1 John 4:19)."
Let the words in Song of Solomon encourage your heart: you are loved.
May they light a fire and awaken a passion in you to love your Bridegroom.
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