A Love Better Than a Box of Chocolates
Aren’t you glad that God refers to the Church as the Bride of Christ? I once asked my husband what images came to mind when he reads God’s description of the Church as the Bride of Christ. He gave me a strange look and said, “None, really.”
I’ll admit, I can’t picture Steve walking down the aisle in a flowing wedding gown. But oh sister, I can picture myself dressed in satin and lace, pearls adorning a flowing veil, walking down heaven’s aisle to meet my Jesus—my heavenly Bridegroom. Can’t you? What glorious imagery God has given His female image bearers.
Perhaps one of the most romantic books in the Bible is the Song of Songs, or as some translations title it, The Song of Solomon. While it is a literal account of King Solomon wooing the Shulammite woman working in the fields, many theologians—including Augustine, Matthew Henry, Charles Spurgeon, Hudson Taylor, and at least one gal from the South—also see it as an allegory of Jesus wooing the heart of His Bride.
I have been like the Shulammite woman who questioned God’s pursuit. She felt unworthy of her suitor’s advances. “Do not stare at me because I am dark, because I am darkened by the sun,” she cried (Song of Songs 1:6). Her hands were stained from tending her brothers’ vineyard. Her skin was burned by the blazing sun. Her feet were calloused from walking barefoot on hardened ground. Yet the king looked past all the outward signs of a hard-lived life and saw only her beauty.
When I first read those words through the lens of Jesus pursuing me, tears filled my eyes. And yet, the tears were not for the Shulammite woman. They were for myself.
I grew up in a home riddled with cyclical bursts of physical violence and constant emotional turmoil. My father drank heavily, and my parents fought—both verbally and physically—in front of me. Many nights, I went to bed, pulled the covers up to my chin, and prayed I would hurry and fall asleep to shut out the yelling, screaming, and arguing in the next room. My parents were so wrapped up in their own struggles that they didn’t know how to show love to their children. I lived in a beautiful house, and all my physical needs were met. But my heart was hungry for something I couldn’t define.
From my earliest memories, I felt I wasn’t good enough, smart enough, or pretty enough. Looking back through old scrapbooks, I see that I was actually a cute little girl. But when someone feels ugly, the mirror somehow bypasses the reflection in the glass and goes straight to the heart. No wonder my daddy doesn’t love me, I thought more than once.
And yet, the King—Jesus—spied me in the fields and wooed me. Through a two-year courtship, He pursued my adolescent heart until I finally stopped shunning His advances and allowed myself to be caught. “I am my Beloved’s, and His desire is for me.” Every girl’s dream.
Soak in these words from the Song of Songs and read them as God’s words of pursuit spoken to you:
“I liken you, my darling, to a mare harnessed to one of the chariots of Pharaoh,” the lover whispers. “How beautiful you are, my darling! Oh, how beautiful! Your eyes are doves” (Song of Songs 1:9, 15).
“Like a lily among thorns is my darling among the maidens… My dove in the clefts of the rock, in the hiding places on the mountainside, show me your face, let me hear your voice; for your voice is sweet, and your face is lovely” (Song of Songs 2:2, 14).
“How beautiful you are, my darling! Oh, how beautiful! Your eyes behind your veil are doves… All beautiful you are, my darling; there is no flaw in you” (Song of Songs 4:1–7).
More than a love story between a woman who felt unworthy of attention and a man captivated by her beauty, the Song of Songs is a breathtaking picture of Jesus wooing and winning His Bride—you. You have captured Jesus’ attention just as surely as the Shulammite maiden captured the young king’s gaze as he watched her in the fields.
This is Valentine’s week, and it can be a mixed bag of emotions. For some of us, Valentine’s Day isn’t what it once was—or what we hoped it would be. But know this, dear sister: God didn’t pursued you for one day of the year-He captured your heart for all eternity. And that love is far better than a box of chocolates.
Father, thank You for choosing me for Your Son. Help me never lose sight of the height, depth, or breadth of Your unfailing, unchanging, unfathomable love. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Digging Deeper
$5 Valentine’s Week Sale
Sometimes I wish I could change the title of Never Less Than to Loved More than You Know. Why? It goes through every encounter Jesus had with a woman and shows how He broke a cultural rule to elevate and esteem her…how he loved God’s female image bearers more than we know.
In Jesus’ day, women were not allowed to speak to men in public, testify in court, or sit at a rabbi’s feet to learn. They weren’t even counted as people. That’s why we have the title of Jesus’ miracle with the loaves and fishes as the feeding of the 5,000. Only the men were counted.
But then Jesus came and changed all that. Every recorded time He came in contact with a woman He broke one of those rules. For me. For you. Even the first person He appeared to after His resurrection was a woman! The God-made man broke the man-made rules to show just how much He loves you…a woman.
I wish I could give everyone of you Never Less Than for free. That’s how important it is to me. But here’s the next best thing. For Valentine’s week, I’m lowering it to $5. No limits…unless I run out. What a great book to give to women who feel “less than.”
(This book also includes a Bible Study guide which is perfect for groups.)
