LOVE THAT CANNOT BE QUENCHED
A Gospel Reflection on the Song of Solomon
- Popstars sing about it.
- Movies and books tell stories about it.
- Our friends and family are talking about it, and most of us are looking for it.
What am I talking about? Love.
It's everywhere, and yet somehow it's still so hard for people to find. For all our modern talk about love, it remains one of the most misunderstood treasures in human experience.
And right in the middle of the Bible—of all places—sits a book that is unapologetically, unmistakably about love: The Song of Solomon, or as the opening line calls it, "The Song of Songs." A book of lovely poetry. Whether that sounds wonderful or nauseating, we've got to wonder what it's doing in the Bible at all.
It's in the Bible because love is a powerful, electrifying, pulse‑racing gift from God.
Throughout the poems, two lovers call out to each other with joint excitement. To be known like this—fully, joyfully, without fear—is simply out of this world. It's both beautiful and dangerous, like a fierce flame that can't be put out. As the book itself says, "Many waters cannot quench love, neither can the floods drown it." Love can give life, or it can burn and destroy it.
So why is love so hard to find—and even harder to keep?
Because love is a powerful gift from God, we cannot handle it on our own. Human love, at its best, is a faint echo of something far greater. The Song of Songs shows us how good life can be when two people give themselves completely to one another. But it also whispers that there must be a deeper love still—a love that does not fade, fail, or fracture.
THE LOVE BEHIND ALL LOVES
The New Testament tells us where that deeper love is found.
The most powerful gift the Lord Jesus gives is the love He has for the world. John writes: "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son…" (John 3:16)
The Song of Songs celebrates human love, but the gospel reveals God's love—love that moves toward us even when we are unlovely. Paul puts it plainly: "God demonstrates His love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8)
Human love says, "I love you because…"
God's love says, "I love you even though…"
Human love can be quenched.
God's love cannot.
Human love is a flame.
God's love is the sun.
WHAT THE SONG OF SONGS TEACHES US
If you want to see what love is really like—its beauty, its longing, its joy—read the Song of Songs. It shows us:
• Love delights — "Behold, you are beautiful, my love."
• Love pursues — "Arise, my love… come away."
• Love commits — "My beloved is mine, and I am his."
• Love protects — "Set me as a seal upon your heart."
But if you want to experience the love of God, you must come by faith to Jesus Christ. The love in the Song of Songs is wonderful, but it is only a signpost. The gospel is the destination.
Christ is the Bridegroom who loves with perfect love.
The church is the bride He has redeemed at infinite cost.
And the cross is the proof that His love is stronger than death.
A LOVE WORTH RECEIVING
- The Song of Solomon invites us to admire the beauty of human love.
- The gospel invites us to receive the beauty of God's love.
- One shows us what love can be.
- The other shows us what love truly is.
- And the invitation still stands today:
- Come to Christ.
- Trust Him.
- Rest in the love that cannot be quenched.
Because the greatest love story ever told is not between Solomon and his bride—it is between Christ and the people He came to save.
Key Verses
Romans 5:8
But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
John 3:16-19
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.
He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.
1 John 4:7-19
Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God.
He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.
In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him.
Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another.
No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us.
Hereby know we that we dwell in him, and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit.
And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Savior of the world.
Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God.
And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.
Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world.
There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.
We love him, because he first loved us.
All photos courtesy of Unsplash
No comments
Post a Comment