I Am Love

Webster’s definition of beloved is, “greatly loved; dear to the heart.” Accordingly, the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia defines beloved as agapetos, an affectionate term of endearment found 26 out of 42 times in both the Old and New Testaments. When most see or hear that word, they automatically think of it in romantic terms. When I read the Song of Solomon, I was like, wait a minute…this seems like a steamy romance novel dead smack in the middle of the Bible. I re-read it several times just to make sure I was clear on what was written. Then I stopped to think a minute about what was actually written on those pages. I mean, the Song of Solomon spells out some pretty romantic language when referring to King Solomon’s ‘beloved;’ however, few think of themselves as the beloved of God. If you really think about it, if God created us in His image and He is the epitome of love, why wouldn’t we be love personified in a spiritual love affair with God?

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[/pullquote]As I write this, a thought came to mind. God just showed how He knows what to do to gain people’s attention. Even 2000 years ago, before radio, T.V., books and the internet, people gathered around to hear stories. When it came to spiritual things, parables became those stories to teach people about various topics of importance in the lives of believers. People of biblical times aren’t really that much different than us modern day folk in what grabs and holds our attention. The gist of the Song of Solomon is that he and a young woman meet and fall in love; however, the woman is conflicted in that she doesn’t know whether or not she wants to be with King Solomon or a shepherd she loves (Song of Songs 2:16). She ultimately chooses King Solomon after she learns to trust him and they get married. What better way to not only gain our attention, but also make a very specific statement: God loves us more deeply than we will ever know; He is persistent in his pursuit of us. Ironically, this love poem also shows how believers often face conflict when they are tossed between fully selling out for God and leaving the world behind.

King Solomon was a great king who had the best interests of his people at heart. God is the greatest king who always has the best. He was gentle with his beloved (2:8-9) just as God is gentle with us (2 Samuel 22:36). The love he has for this woman is a vivid description of God’s love for believers (John 3:16, Romans 5:8; 1 John 4:10). Furthermore, Ephesians 5:22-33 spells out the responsibility husbands and wives have to each other and that is shown as a parallel in that men are to love their wives as Christ loved the church, his bride. The church is to submit herself to Christ in all things. If believers love God as much as we say we do, He would be “dear to our heart” and we would do any and everything in our power to please Him (Matt. 22:6-38). In doing so, believers would long to love God with a love that is based on respect and benevolence.

Since we were created in the image of God and are love personified, it is very important to know that there are varying levels to which love is shown in both the spiritual and physical worlds. I…you…we are God’s beloved and should fervently seek Him through prayer and studying His Word. In doing so we will fall deeper and deeper in love with Him and will fully understand why He loves us so much. This is the kind of love affair that will leave you breathless and wanting a more intimate relationship with God.