Today’s reading: Ecclesiastes 11:1-Song of Solomon 8:14
My selection: Song of Solomon 8:6,7
6 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.
7 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.
My reflections: True love between a husband and wife must endure a lifetime of trials and stresses, many waters and even floods. Will it last? That is the question many a young person has asked standing at the threshold of adult life.
Experience shows that sometimes that apparently endless love of youth endures the trials of life and sometimes it does not. What is the difference? Mere physical attraction is not enough. The strength and beauty of youth fades away with time. Ecclesiastes 12 paints a dramatic portrait of the body wearing down and desire failing.
Commitment is the difference. The bride says “Set me as a seal upon your heart, as a seal upon your arm…” She is right to require this. Only this kind of permanent seal that affects both the heart and the body will endure until death breaks it.
My challenge: If you are in love, are you committed? Can you say, “I have set you as a seal upon my heart, as a seal upon my arm,” that is, my heart is yours, my body is yours. Will your love endure the flood waters that are sure to come? Do not enter into marriage without that commitment. To the already-married, I say, search your heart and determine to make this kind of commitment to your spouse, if you have not already.
Tomorrow’s reading: Isaiah 1:1-4:6
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