It Must Be Love

Song of Solomon 5:10-16

Young Woman

10 My lover is dark and dazzling,
better than ten thousand others!
11 His head is finest gold,
his wavy hair is black as a raven.
12 His eyes sparkle like doves
beside springs of water;
they are set like jewels
washed in milk.
13 His cheeks are like gardens of spices
giving off fragrance.
His lips are like lilies,
perfumed with myrrh.
14 His arms are like rounded bars of gold,
set with beryl.
His body is like bright ivory,
glowing with lapis lazuli.
15 His legs are like marble pillars
set in sockets of finest gold.
His posture is stately,
like the noble cedars of Lebanon.
16 His mouth is sweetness itself;
he is desirable in every way.
Such, O women of Jerusalem,
is my lover, my friend.

I have a question for the men, Can your wife say this about you and it be the truth? I know that if my wife were to say that about me she would be saying it in faith. I do not evoke those types of descriptions of my body. I do not keep my body in a perfect state of physical fitness. Does that make me a bad person? Of course not. Should I work harder at trying to attain a better level of fitness? Of course I should.

What we see here in these verses is a woman who is consumed with love for her man. She speaks nothing but positive things about him. This is the way we should be with each other, especially in our marriages. Why is it that we are more inclined to point out the negatives in our spouse and not accentuate the positives? Two words, our flesh. Our flesh is so driven by sin and self preservation that it likes to point out the negatives in others so that it can feel better about itself.

Ephesians 5:19-21a

19 When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, 21 envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these.

This is not the way of the spirit though. The Holy Spirit within us is focused on love. The Holy Spirit leads us to this fruit:

Ephesians 5:22-23

22 But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control.

I don't know about you, but joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control are all great, but without love none of them exist. How can we learn to love our spouse, or anyone else, in a way that this type of fruit would abound? We must learn from the Word on how to cultivate this lifestyle. Here is what Jesus Himself says about where we can learn this:

John 14:15-17

15 “If you love me, obey my commandments. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you. 17 He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. The world cannot receive him, because it isn’t looking for him and doesn’t recognize him. But you know him, because he lives with you now and later will be in you."

The Holy Spirit is to be our guide through this life. He will direct us and lead us into God's perfect plan for our lives. Part of that plan will always be a focus on love. If we learn from the love that God has for us we will want to share that love with others. If can put our flesh under submission and allow our spirit to lead us we will be in such stark contrast to the rest of the world around us that we will be so attractive to others that they will want to find out about what makes us that way. This will be our opportunity to share the love of God with them and reveal to them how they too can walk in His love to such a degree that it flows through them and affects the world around them. That is how we should be living. God's love through us is contagious so spread His love to everyone you come into contact with today and watch what happens. God will get the glory.

Thank You, Father, for loving me in such a way that I can reveal Your love for me to others because You love them the same as me. I know that Your love is one that is not conditional not is it based on feelings. Your love in unconditional and forever. You know everything about me and still love me enough to send Jesus to die for me. You are my first love. May I listen to my spirit and to the Holy Spirit and not my flesh so that I can express Your love to others in a way that drives them closer to You. I give You all the praise, honor and glory that are rightfully Yours. You increase within me and my flesh will decrease in importance. I truly do love You. Amen.

Published by Erik L. Vakula
Daily Bread From the Word
Copyright © 2009 Erik Vakula, All Rights Reserved