Song of Songs 2:2-7
There’s a story of an old expiriment where they tested relationship depth by putting two people in a room with nothing but two chairs. They started with kids and did this over years; boys with boys and girls with girls. What surprised them was the depth of the connection the boys held while never sitting eye to eye, but shoulder to shoulder. Their communication was not primarily through words, but through experiences. While women prioritize communicating through words, communication through experience is often unspoken, but incredibly vital. It is almost an unconscious language, lost in a sea of verbal over-sharing. I believe that needs a greater focus as it is one of the main ways God communicates His love to us.
The idea here is the difference between show and tell. God certainly tells us He loves us (Jere 31:3), but it is far more common to read passages where God shows us His love. Think about it. John 3:16 “For God loved the world so much that He gave;” Rom 5:8 “For God shows His love for us in this;” both of which talk about the greatest example of love shown in history – Christ put His banner over us on the cross! Experience is how love reaches to the deepest level of our soul. It can’t simply be talked about but must be lived.
Love Desired
Boys historically don’t like talking about romantic things; especially the idea of being romanced by another. Yet, at our core (women understand this a bit more than we do) we yearn to be chased, to be wooed, to be desired more than we can ever put into words. The book, The Sacred Romance, weaves a tale of longing for adventure as proof of the very wooing God does of us (Amazon.com). This whole idea of life, our experiences, our drive, everything – is from God and exists because God is pursuing us Himself. Everything we’ve ever wanted is available in God. Ch2’s actions from the man are all basically works of love. He does’t sit there and read sonnets but provides and protects. This reflects God who gives us purpose, passion, and presence. He made us for good works (Eph 2:10) and works to see our desires fulfilled (Psalm 37) and promises to be with us always (Ex 33:14-15). Moses was so intent on staying in the presence of God that he refused to leave his spot until he knows God is going with him. These experiences are the deepest longings of our soul.
But what about money, material blessings, sex, or power? Yes, we all want those. Is what we want them? Or are they reflections of the deepest longings of our soul? This whole book has shown us that sex and romance are reflections of the greater love in God Himself. And the things that money and power give us are things that we receive so much more of in God than in ourselves, even though we rarely look for it in Him. We seek money and security so that we can have the means to take care of ourselves, even though scripture is clear that we are under the banner of God; He knows the hairs on your head and the days in your life – and each one matters deeply to Him! This earth and all that is in it was given to us so that we might see past the earthly reflections and desire the Creator, yet we’ve perverted our desires so much that even us in the church tend to seek God, not for Himself, but so that He blesses us with those earthly reflections! Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, desire Him first and it will all be fulfilled (Matt 6:33)! Moses had the right idea; the prosperity gospel, not so much.
Love Fulfilled
In Christ, everything we desire is fulfilled. He is our romance, our security, our reason. The experience of love is fully and completely fulfilled in Christ. I must mention this because we are walking through Song of Songs: Our relationship with Christ is not sexual but goes so far beyond that. The essence of sexuality is to know and be known and in Christ we have that fully under His banner. The intimacy of our knowledge of love is experienced sexually here but remember it is only a reflection. Intimate knowledge of another is spiritual above all and that’s what we have in Christ, which is way more fulfilling than anything we can have in this life. This is why it is a sacred romance and why scripture’s main illustration of our relationship with Christ is a marriage. Whether it’s Matt 25:1-12, which portrays the church as virgins waiting for their bridegroom who is Christ, or Rev 19 which shows the church splendid in her gown, or John 3 where John the Baptist understands he is the best man handing the people over to Christ, the groom. We are the church—the bride—the prize that Christ paid for with His own blood. Our deepest desires for love are all fulfilled in Him alone.
Next Steps
This is the whole of the gospel story; living in the fullness of the love of God through Jesus (share gospel). His banner over us is love.
- Accept His gift of romance through faith and by obedience.
- Train yourself to see earthly things as reflections of our greater God.
- Give Him your time and effort each day; respond to God’s romance.
The river of life is an adventure WITH the God of the heavens who wants nothing more than to be WITH us—so much so that Christ died for it. How will you respond to God’s banner of love?
Comments are closed