Good Morning
All,
Song of Solomon 8:6; “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”.
Everyone loves a love story. Even if we say we don’t; we really do. We like to see or read where the two leads
finally get together and true love prevails.
Most of the greatest stories told are love stories. Think of Romeo and Juliet or Anna Karenina or
any one of the newer stories. The love
of the man for the woman which compels and drives them to be together no matter
what the odds or cost unites them as one.
This union is a true mystery; how do two
become one? We may not fully understand
God’s ways or gifts but we receive them anyway.
Part of that gift is the incredible love which God has for us as his
Church. He expresses his love for us
through the sacrifice of Jesus and then unites us with him in an eternal loving
relationship. The Scriptures often
describes this as a marriage.
This is a portion of the great love ballad
in the Bible. It is the conversation
between Solomon and his bride. It serves
as an allegory of Christ and the Church.
Christ is the bridegroom and the Church is the bride. As we read this Book, we read about the
incredible love of Christ for His Church.
God expresses his love for us in many
ways. Yet in this passage, we read where
God will defend us and that relationship.
God is a jealous God who will defend from all unwanted suitors, like the
devil. He defends us with his mighty arm
and protects with his gracious love.
The love that God has for us is stronger
than we can ever imagine. He is there
for us as the battles and turmoil of this life surrounds us. He is there to comfort our pain, heal our
sorrow and to provide us hope. He is
there to protect us from the devil with a jealous rage that flashes fire. The passion of God’s love is deep for
us. It consumes him with the desire to
save us from our sins and not to destroy us as we deserve. It is this love that causes Him to see us as
someone worth redeeming; someone who he chooses to love.
He marks us with a seal, the seal of
Baptism. It is the sign which He marks
us with to claim us as his own beloved ones.
It is through this wondrous gift that we are forever bound to his great
love. It is through Baptism that the
gift of our salvation is poured out upon us.
Through Baptism we are marked and sealed with an everlasting love which
will bring us to eternal life.
Gracious Father, you love us with a passion
which is greater than anything that we can fathom. Your love for us gives us hope. Through your Spirit remind us of your great
mercy for us so that we will be merciful to those around us. Keep us close to you and deepen our love for
you that we may be made worthy of you.
In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen.
God’s
Peace,
Pastor Bret
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