Song of Songs 8:6-7
Set me as a seal upon your heart, as a seal upon your arm, for love is strong as death, jealousy is fierce as the grave. Its flashes are flashes of fire, the very flame of the LORD. Many waters cannot quench love, neither can floods drown it. If a man offered for love all the wealth of his house, he would be utterly despised.
The Christian faith is a practical faith in all aspects of life, including romantic love. So much so that we have an entire love book in the canon of Scriptures. It is my firm belief that the most romantic of all people should be Christians. Why should we fail in this area when we have divine illumination into this matter? The marriages of Christians ought to be the most flourishing and thriving of all. Unfortunately, just as we do with other matters, we take little heed to the wisdom of Scripture when it comes to love matters. We behave as though love does not matter.
Our passage today shows us the nature of love. Solomon takes a pause from his description of his love story to paint for us a picture of what true love looks like. He uses two metaphors to describe it. Love is like death. Love is like fire. In other words, what Solomon aims to convey is that love is strong and that love is unstoppable – love is powerful. Those who’ve taken heed to God’s wisdom on love have enjoyed its fruit, while those who’ve ignored the same have suffered devastation. Love is powerful, and like any other power, it can be harnessed for good or for evil. The choice is ours to make.
Reflections
1. Do you agree with the statement, “Christians ought to be the most romantic people?”
2. What does your love life look like? Is it in obedience to God’s Word?
