My Beloved

My Beloved

“My beloved is white and ruddy, chief among ten thousand.” Song of Sol. 5:10, ff. Christianity is not just a matter of rules and precepts, of what is right and wrong, about fulfilling your obligations, about what you shall and shall not do. On the contrary, it is first of all a love relationship. Jesus Christ is a person, a wonderful person, who has courted us. He loved us first, and therefore we love Him in return.

Just as when a man is in love with a woman, he is not at all content knowing and seeing that she is a nice woman who performs her duty, such as looking after the house in an exemplary manner. His greatest desire is her presence and her devotion and her love; so it is also with Christ. We have very good reason to linger with Him out of sincere devotion.

He is white and ruddy; He is beautiful! What is it that is so beautiful? Everything! What is this “everything?” His qualities, His mind, His nature, His works; His sacrificing, His patience, His laboring and His forgiving love!!! His infinite longsuffering that becomes our increasing salvation as time goes by; His unfathomable, wise guidance of our steps and the steps of all those who cross our path when they perform a good deed, and just as much when they do something bad, which subjects me to necessary and profitable trials!!!

This is His wonderful head with its wavy locks, and His cheeks like a bed of spices, like banks of scented herbs!!!! And the words that He speaks into the depth of the heart! His lips are truly like lilies, dripping liquid myrrh! The more we love Him, the more we linger with Him and all His inward beauty.

How painful and embarrassing it is for a man who is love-struck only to hear about or see all her busyness with so many things—even though everything she does is right and good—when she has very little time left for him personally. It is nothing special for a person in love if all he sees is the back and the heels of his beloved.

Having much to thank God for is not the same as being thankful, and neither is being thankful the same as giving thanks and offering up thanksgiving. The exhortation is to be thankful for all things, for this is the will of God. 1 Thess. 5:18. This, as well as everything else, has to be done; it has to be carried out continuously! Having much to be thankful for and having good reason to give thanks and not doing it is ungodliness.

We have very good reason not only to pray to God but also to worship—to adore Him for His indescribable beauty and glory; i.e., His infinite goodness toward us in every possible way, night and day, all the days of our life! Let us therefore do this—something that we have very good reason to do! Let us admire Him in our hearts, lingering with Him in sincere love; let us also say words of admiration about Him with our lips as the bride did in the Song of Solomon.

I greet all the brothers and sisters heartily with the entire Song of Solomon! I don’t think it is too long to read! It is also worth noting the Bridegroom’s love for the bride which will certainly not diminish our love for Him! That He, among many other admirable things, can say “You are all fair, my love, and there is no spot in you” is an exceedingly admirable expression for heavenly love!!! What, then, do we have reason to say? And what do you usually say, my dear friend?