You have ravished my heart,
My sister, my bride,Â
with one glance of your eyes…
Hands down, this is the wildest verse in the Bible. I mean, ok, I guess people can argue for other verses to be in the “most wild” category…BUT…there is no doubt that this one stands out, especially when you consider its meaning and implications. If Scripture is a field of glory, this is one of the tall, flowering blooms of the field. If the Word is an expanse of starlight, this is a bright sun blazing in the middle of it.
I’ve taught on this one verse from Song of Songs 4 many times, and yet I will freely admit how little I feel I’ve stepped into its depths. It is spoken by a Shepherd and Bridegroom to his beloved spouse and there is no doubt it is communicating the heart of God for his people. Through the vessel of Solomon’s romantic poetry, God is unveiling the fact that His heart is radically impacted by us. I won’t get into a full teaching here, but suffice it to say that it shows an emotional depth within God that catalyzed His very journey from cosmic glory to a dirty manger (and an even dirtier Roman cross). It was not with some holy, dutiful sense of responsibility that God was obliged to die on our behalf, but rather a passionate, over-the-top Love that drove Him to give up everything for our hearts.
More than ever before, this is a season to enjoy and soak in the depths of this radical Love. On that note, the following is a reflection to help spur you further into that pursuit…
Earthly Reflections of Heavenly Truth
One the ways that I personalize this passionate, emotional, overflowing, surreal love within God is by comparing my own experiences of love in this world and knowing that God feels that way about me, but only wayyy beyond it. I can have confidence in this because I know I am made in His image and likeness.
Yes, there is total certainty to the fact that our earthly relationships reflect the heart of God. The burning depths within God are indeed so rich and vast that we were created with an ability to experience love in many different forms. This is because one type of earthly relationship is not enough to mirror and reflect love’s eternal beauty. We need a whole array of mirrors to come together to get even somewhat close to staring at this burning glory.
So for example, I have tasted the glory of bonding love and relational freedom found within the deep friendships of my life. I have not had many close friends, but the ones I’ve had offer something amazingly rich in the way it communicates love to me. The joy, the safety, the mutual resonance and connection found in a true friendship is absolutely divine.
But friendship is just one arena of divine love. There’s an entirely different understanding of love that opens up when you think about romance. Different crushes and romantic feelings throughout my life have given way to a passion that I could never have conjured up on my own. I remember when this passion was awakened for the woman who is now my wife. There’s no words to describe what this romantic love can drive a person to do! It is intoxicating and consuming.
And then, of course, the fruit of that love can lead us to something entirely different; something I also could have never mentally wrapped my head around before I actually experienced it… I’m talking about the birth of my children and the newfound blossom of sweet, sacrificial love that burst into my heart with the birth of each child. This unique desire and disposition toward my kids is something I couldn’t have even dreamed possible until I tasted it for myself.
Each of these relationships are very different, and my expression of love for each one is obviously different as well. But I have come to see that each time I’ve tasted of love’s joys, that I am getting glimpses of the eternal Love that lies in the heart of our Friend, Bridegroom, and Father. But let’s take these musings a step further. For I would also compare these varying experience of love to the varying experiences of weather found in the seasons. Let me try and explain…
The Sun’s Angle
Whether fall, winter, spring, or summer, there is a unique experience each season brings. These experiences are linked not only to temperature, but to entirely different memories, whether it’s the holidays that occur in the winter, the dreamy beach vacations of the summer, the newness and fragrance of the spring, or the crisp beauty of the fall. Each period of the year is vastly different and offers a whole palate of sensory delight. Many of us have our favorite season and yet we can usually acknowledge wonderful things about the other ones. This is one reason I’m thankful for living in the Northeastern United States (I gotta fight for this gratitude sometimes). I often get to experience the full array of the seasons.
Now with all that in view, let me ask you a question. Did you ever think about the fact that the main difference between these different seasons, with all their varyings gifts and blessings, comes down to one simple factor . . . the angle of the sun.
Yes, everything you’ve ever experienced in the vastly different temperatures and environmental conditions of the seasons comes down to the fact that the part of the earth you’re standing on is facing the sun at a slightly different angle. That change in angle of course changes the temperature, which in turn changes so many other things. This little factor of our position toward a star is what gives us these four amazingly contrasting experiences.
Perhaps you can see how this connects. God’s infinite love is like the sun, shining in a power and brilliance that is beyond comprehension. If you gazed into the full heat of the sun, you would go blind. It is beyond your body’s very capability to receive its full impact.
And yet you are gifted with varying experiences that arise from this surging heat. God’s love is like the sun which produces different effects on earth depending on the angle it’s hitting it. In the same way, our varying encounters of love on earth, whether through a friendship, an intimate partner, or a beloved child, all are different “angles” through which the blazing Glory of God hits us on the earth. And even still, these are only small tastes of the actual Source.
What season of love do you need right now? Either way, you need to know that you are in a perpetual season of love. It may come in different forms, but there is nothing changing the fact that you are to live your life within the ongoing participation in the intimate lovingkindness of God. You never graduate beyond His love. And yet, again, there are different experiences of this unfailing love.
Are you in a season of knowing Him as Friend? Or perhaps as that intimate Bridegroom who has a jealous and passionate gaze at your soul. Or maybe it’s knowing Him as your adoring Abba, who delights in you in way that drives Him to joyful tears.
Perhaps there’s a new way of understanding His love that needs to dawn upon your heart. Either way, I pray you take some time to reflect on this, and allow yourself to be freshly kissed by the Light of these words spoken over you (…yes, you).