A million love songs later…
Every day we’re asking four questions about part of the Bible. Today Bern Leckie answers:
What did I like about today’s passage?
Are you enjoying this as much as I am? Being honest, and as you can probably tell from yesterday, I do find this book a bit embarrassingly laugh-it-off awkward at times. Maybe that’s just me being a bloke, but I think it’s also because it invites, even demands, a different kind of engagement from most of the rest of the Bible. That’s not a bad thing! Just different.
It’s not an historical document, so we don’t need to fuss about who this woman was or which ivory tower most resembles her neck. It’s not an instructional letter, so relax, you can leave your pomegranates in the kitchen.
So what is it? And what has it got to do with us? Most simply, it’s poetry and songs about love, inspired for us by the author of love, who knows we love to love. He knows what we keep listening to on the radio. There’s a constant theme in our minds – our desire to love and be loved – and a constant note in this book. It’s love. It’s only love, doing its thing.
These poems have long been enjoyed at weddings, but I think God has inspired them for more than that. They are for us too, today. What I’ve most enjoyed about them is feeling around for the resonant bits which seem true about love and commitment. The way love helps us see the world differently, full of colour and possibility. The way love inspires us to dig deep and express the best of ourselves creatively. The way love forgives when this comes out as “Your teeth are like a flock of sheep.” (Twice. Seriously?)
I’m also loving that God-inspired love reveals how we are made to fit together and complement each other. While he is a king and she has a very different background and status, nothing in these poems suggests that he is more important than she is. They both have vineyards to bring to each other, biblical symbols of a life’s work of care, cultivation and value. We live in an unequal society, but love from God brings empowerment, sets our expectations higher, and brings out the best in ourselves and each other. How great is that?
What did it show me about Father God, Jesus or the Holy Spirit?
God wants us to know the joy and life-changing benefits of love. We might hope to discover it in marriage, but we also know that God’s love is for all of us, and we can’t wait for it!
Thankfully, I think this book has another purpose too. I believe it shows the love Jesus has for his bride, the church – us! This love can redefine us. We should know that we are loved and valued by God, empowered by him, capable of reflecting this love in our lives and other relationships too. Maybe have another read with that in mind, let God tell you himself.
What am I going to do differently as a result?
In any difficult dealings this week, remember how extravagantly God loves the other person. I think God wants me to enjoy loving as well as being loved, and I want to do this better!
Who am I going to share this with?
My wife and others we follow Jesus with.