Song of Songs (Chapters 1-4) (By Chris Barnes)

OBSERVE: From the book of Songs of Songs we learn about emotional intimacy and exclusivity of our relationship with the God of the universe. Throughout the first four chapters we hear the repeated theme of an intimate and loving relationship summarized best in the following verse: 
My love is mine, and I am his. (2:16)

INTERPRET: Though the surface meaning of this book is clearly concerned with human sexuality, throughout all ages Christians have seen in it a metaphor of the intimate love relationship Christ has with his bride, the church. Jesus is not pictured here as King or Priest or Prophet, but as a Bridegroom and Lover of his bride. Though God is infinitely above us, he delights in us and in giving himself to us. He is not the fleeting love of a human suitor who may or may not love us tomorrow, but the secure love who has claimed us as his own for eternity and given us all that he owns.

APPLICATION: And certainly Jesus has the power to hold us tight to himself, to preserve us, so much that Jesus said of us, “No one can snatch them away from me” (John 10:28). God has come to us in Christ to draw us to himself so that he can love us:

All who confess that Jesus is the Son of God have God living in them, and they live in God. We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love…….Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for the fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love. We love each other because he loved us first. (1 John 4: 15-16, 18-19).

Jesus demonstrated his love for us by making the first move toward us, calling us to himself. He has loved us best by taking our judgment upon himself so that we need not fear. And when we begin to grasp the goodness of his love for us, we find that we can “love our Lord Jesus Christ with an undying love” (Ephesians 6: 24).

REFLECTION: Do you feel secure in the loving arms of God Almighty?

PRAYER: JESUS, I love you because you first loved me and drew me to yourself. You hold me so securely in your love that nothing can come between us or ever snatch me away. I am yours and you are mine, forevermore. AMEN.

SONG: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=roQovDZeAWE