Love overcomes any obstacle and pays whatever price necessary for the beloved.
Today’s reading: Song of Solomon 1-3; 2 Corinthians 12
8 The voice of my beloved! Behold, he comes, leaping over the mountains, bounding over the hills. Song of Solomon 2:8
15 I will most gladly spend and be spent for your souls. 2 Corinthians 12:15a
Over the centuries, there have been various allegorical interpretations set forth about the Song of Solomon which attempt to minimize the impact of the obvious sensual language here. It is widely held among evangelical scholars today that the poem clearly speaks of the beauty of sexual love between a man and woman in the context of marriage. While sex has been and is abused and misused by humanity the world over, nevertheless, when experienced within the boundaries set by God’s law, it is honorable and God-glorifying (Hebrews 13:4). Paul’s comparison of the relationship of Christ and the Church to that of the relationship between a groom and bride does not denigrate the former relationship, but, rather, ennobles the latter (Ephesians 5:22-33).
Song of Solomon speaks poignantly to the intense attraction and desire between a man and a woman in love. Here this attraction is not degraded or sinful but exalted and celebrated. We ought never to jump to an allegory to hide the original message of the honor of human love and the sexual relationship between a husband and wife. The beloved revels in hearing her lover’s voice. Her joy is palpable as she anticipates his arrival. He leaps over mountains and bounds over hills to get to her. His love is unstoppable.
Paul looks at the Church with the same longing that a bridegroom has for his bride. He is jealous for the Corinthian congregation as she seems to be on the verge of being seduced away from a “sincere and pure devotion to Christ” by “super-apostles” (2 Corinthians 11:2-5). He has been making his case against these usurpers showing his own devotion to the Lord and to them. Though Paul is merely a messenger of Christ, he loves the Church on behalf of Christ. He loves whom the Lord loves, His elect people. So in showing that his ministry is authentic and reliable, he enumerates how he has and will pay a price to serve them in the gospel. “I will most gladly spend and be spent for your souls,” he tells them. He pours himself out for them, and he does it joyfully, wholeheartedly.
If you are married, take time to consider how your marriage is reflecting the godly love and commitment of Christ to the Church. Whether you are a married or a single believer, think about the price Christ paid for your soul because of His unstoppable love for you.
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