“My beloved spake, and said unto me, Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away. For, lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone; The flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land” (Song of Solomon 2:10-12).
TEXT — Song of Solomon 2:9-14
Message
The dramatic and tragic love story between Romeo and Juliet was a memorable rendition by William Shakespeare. Theirs was a love as strong as death. And indeed, it ended in the tragic death of both. And that was because it was an attempt to forge two souls into one without the foundation of true love. Christ Jesus is the spring and foundation of eternal love.
When love is unfeigned between two lovers, it corresponds with the pure love emanating from God’s heart. And such was the temper and tenor of the expression of the love between the Shulamite and her Shepherd lover. True love is brewed in the spirit and the soul. Its content and confession are both wilful and emotive. The deeply expressive language of the Shulamite paints a picture of the beauty of spring in the Middle East. “For, lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone; The flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land…Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away…” It was the spring of love for these ‘love birds.’ God’s love was deeply rooted in their hearts, which expresses itself in vibrant vigour and the healing warmth reminiscent of spring.
Beloved, only Christ’s love rooted in your heart can activate the true love within you. And when such a love is evident in you, it stands like the solid Rock of Gibraltar, which life’s vicissitudes cannot move. Christ’s love, entrenched in your heart, will cause your life, career, and marital experiences to weather unscathed and untainted life’s fiercest storms.
Be it known however that true love in the heart derives essentially from God’s saving grace. Without salvation, it is impossible for the carnal mind to truly love because it’s enmity towards God and of course man. Do you want to possess that Christlike love that readily reaches out to others? Then become transformed by the renewing of the mind through conscious salvation and entire sanctification.
Listed among “500 most powerful people on the planet” by the Foreign Policy magazine in 2013, Pastor (Dr.) William F. Kumuyi is the founder and General Superintendent of the Deeper Christian Life Ministry (DCLM) headquartered in Lagos, Nigeria. DCLM started in 1973 as a 15-member Bible study group right in Kumuyi’s apartment at University of Lagos where he was a lecturer. His revolutionary Bible teaching on personal holiness and commitment to evangelism soon gained so much traction and resulted in a widespread revival.
Leave a Reply