5-13-2019

 Good Morning All,

 Song of Solomon 6:3; “I am my beloved’s, and my beloved is mine.  He is the one who grazes his flock among the lilies.”   

    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.  Here we read of total devotion to one another.  God shows us this through his sending of Jesus to die for us and through the resurrection which shows us the open door to heaven.  God also shows his love by defending his bride the Church.  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.  God is faithful to us even when we are unfaithful.  He calls us back to himself through his grace, extending to us a mercy which only one who loves us totally would offer.

    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 surround 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.  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.  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