Session 17

The love story you want is worth waiting for

From Song of Solomon: A-17 Day Devotional

Just like health blogs and magazines teach us to eat better, exercise more, and get a decent amount of sleep, the media we consume teaches us a lot about sex. Turn on any television show, read a book series, or listen to the radio, and it won’t be long before someone talks about sex, sings about sex, or tries to sell us something using the lure of sex.

It’s impossible to hide from the subject of sex in a world that is consumed with it. When everything about our culture teaches that sex without boundaries is a healthy part of free expression, the idea of saving sex for marriage is not only unpopular, it’s mocked.

God’s boundaries are always about protecting us, not withholding from us.

But where our culture sees restriction, the couple in Song of Solomon finds freedom. God’s boundaries are always about protecting us, not withholding from us. In Song of Solomon, we see a man who loves his wife and a woman who adores her husband. It is the love story we all desire.   

In Song of Solomon 8:12, the woman says, “my own vineyard is mine to give; the thousand shekels are for you, Solomon, and two hundred are for those who tend its fruit.” She willingly gives Solomon fruit from her vineyard, both literally and figuratively. There is no yours and mine, no secrets or manipulation.

That level of intimacy, trust and oneness is what God wants for all of us. That is freedom, and it’s worth waiting for.

Reflect:

• What’s one way society has influenced your view of intimacy or sex?
• What do you know about sex now that you wished you had known five years ago?