Marriage

A WEDDING MESSAGE

by GLENN PEASE
01/15/22
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SONG OF SONGS 8:6,7.

6 Place me like a seal over your heart,
like a seal on your arm;
for love is as strong as death,
its jealousy[a] unyielding as the grave.
It burns like blazing fire,
like a mighty flame.[b]
7 Many waters cannot quench love;
rivers cannot sweep it away.
If one were to give
all the wealth of one’s house for love,
it[c] would be utterly scorned.

A french airplane pilot who flew over the Andes on a regular basis one time did not return. After a week of searching hope that he would be found was given up. But he was still alive. For two days and two nights he lay helpless. Then, when he recovered, he walked five days and four nights through deep snow. When he was found his hands and feet were frozen. He had no food and no tools. He had to crawl of walls of ice in 20 degrees below zero weather. Many times he said it would have been pure pleasure to give up and go to sleep, yeilding to the cold hand of death. He had not read the Song of Sol. 8:6, which says, "Love is strong as death," but he was demonstrating it, for it was love that kept him going.

All he could think about was his wife. He knew that if a man vanished his death was not cosidered legel for 7 years, and so if he died where no one could find his body, his wife would be left in proverty. He had to get to a place where his body could be found so she could get the insurance. This loving concern for his wife drove him to super human efforts which saved his life. He lost his memory and was little more than a frozen vegetable stumbling through the wilderness, but love kept him going. Had he not been a loving man, he would have been a dead man. Death had him in its grip, but love was stronger than death and saved him.

Very few ever have their love put to that kind of test, but there are enough such examples to prove the truth of the statement that love is strong as death. This is the kind of love this great love song is all about. It is not about a wishy washy sentimental infatuation, but about a deep commitment that can ride out the great storms of life and remain loyal. There are two characteristics about ideal love that are stressed in this love song, and these two characteristics must be a part of your married love if you desire to experience God's ideal for marriage. The first characteristics of ideal love is --

I. IT IS PERSISTENT. v. 7 says many waters cannot quench love, neither can floods drown it, but the point is, they will try. Life puts all love to the test. Our love for our Lord is put to the test by the glamour of the world. Many see the glitter of its inticements, and become unfaithful to Christ as they fall in love with the world.

Your love for one another in marriage will face the same test. You will go through times when the flood waters of the world will seek to quench your devotion to each other. You will see the pressures of life make the flame of your love flicker, and at some point you may ever wonder if it has gone out. This is where the Christian has an enormous advantage, for he beleives in the resurrection. In Christ love is as strong as death, and, therefore, even if the forces of darkness succeed in snuffing out the flame of your love, the flame can be rekindled by the power of Christ. True love, like true faith is persistent to its loyality to Christ, for He alone can assure that love will conquer all of its enemies, including death.

Because of this assurance in Christ the Christian couple does not despair and throw away their tickets because the train of love goes through a dark tunnel. They know that by persistance in their commitment to each other Christ will bring them into the light and their will be a renewal of their devotion. Roland der Pury compares marriage to a man and woman performing together on a high tight rope. They will have at least one fall, but those who have a common faith will fall into the net spread out to catch them. They will fall into the grace of God, and there they will roll into each others arms, and then climb back onto the tight rope again.

The two lovers in this great love song had enormous obstacles to overcome. The world,their own ignorance, their background, and enviroment are presented as obstacles to the fulfillment of their love. But in spite of it all, love gained the victory because of its persistance. May God grant that this persistance will characterize your love.

The opposite of love we usually think of as hate, but it is really indifference. You can love and hate the same person at the same time, but you cannot love and be indifferent to the same person at the same time. It is not hate but indifference that drives out love. True love is persistant in overcoming all the ways that indifference will try to enter your relationship. Loving mates need to be constantly asking themselves am I being indifferent to my mates needs and feelings. You will find that you often are, but persistant love will find a way to keep making progress.

Because love is as strong as death it will be permanent. Death does not end a truly loving relationship, for in Christ all love lives forever. William Booth, founder of the Salvation Army, said at the side of his wifes grave after 40 years of marriage, "When I have served my Christ and my generation according to the will of God--then I trust that she will bid me welcome to the skies." Mary Todd Lincoln, wife of that great president, said after his assassination,"I shall not much longer be separated from my idolized husband, who has only gone before and I am certain is fondly watching and waiting for our reunion, never more to be separated." Christina Rossetti wrote,

This life is but the passage of a day,
This life is but a pang and all is over,
But in the life to come which fades not away,
Every love shall abide and every lover.

II. LOVE COMMUNICATES. Jesus did not keep His love for the church hidden. He entered into the realm of flesh and blood to become one with the church, and He demonstrated His love by sacrifice. On the cross He built a bridge that makes it possible for His bride to enter into fellowship with God and cross over to dwell in His Father's house forever.

Jesus is the greatest example of what ideal married love should be like. It should pay any price to build a bridge to keep open the channels of communication. The most romantic couple must go from moonlight and roses to daylight and dishes. They must learn how to say, "I love you," in the mundane as well as in the exciting times of life.

The love of God will take all eternity to express itself, but even human love is so rich and deep it takes a whole lifetime to express it's full meaning. The negative circumstances give love a chance to express aspects of its richness that can never be communicated in good times, and that is why marriage is a commitment for better or worse. Do not waste lifes worst times, for they can teach you new ways to express and experience true love.

This kind of learning calls for a close and conscious relationship with author of love. It is not marriage but the author of marriage that enables us to love as we ought. Marriage is no cure all and panecea for all that sin has brought into the world. If marriage could do that Jesus would not have needed to die on the cross. Let His spirit live in you and love your mate through you, for He loves us all supremely with a forgiving and sacrifical love.