Something to Read Before Valentine's Day

Our society has messed up ideas of love. I'm sure you've already heard that before now. However, because of all of the jaded views of love floating around in the world, our own Christian community has created their own jaded views of it as well. Sometimes, we as Christians have a bad habit of antagonizing relationships; we start to think of them as off limits and we try to treat our desires for companionship as sins. However, I don't believe that God views love as a bad thing at all. I mean, really, he was the one that invented our desires in the first place! Think about it. He gave Adam a helper for a reason. God realizes that we as human beings need to be known and loved, so he has provided us with these things. But, as we all know well, society has taken this priceless, wonderful gift and smashed it into something meaningless. I think Taylor Swift's song "State of Grace" shows this clearly:

"So you were never a saint

And I’ve loved in shades of wrong

We learn to live with the pain

Mosaic broken hearts

But this love is brave and wild

And I never saw you coming

And I'll never be the same

This is a state of grace

This is the worthwhile fight

Love is a ruthless game

Unless you play it good and right

These are the hands of fate

You're my Achilles heel

This is the golden age of something good and right and real."

Honestly this song isn't blatantly bad. But, it makes me a little sad to see a precious gift given to us by our loving Creator called "a ruthless game" and an "Achille's heel". The general message of this song is about the emptiness and pain that comes with pursuing this world's definition of love. From the melancholy sound of this song to the longing lyrics, Taylor Swift has accurately depicted emotions that resonate with anyone who has experienced the disappointment of worldly love. But what do we do to avoid this unfortunate love?

The answer lies within one the most outlandish and bizarre books of the Bible, Song of Songs. Let me just say that if you want proof that God himself created love and sex, then read this book. However, let me continue...

"Catch all the foxes, those little foxes, before they ruin the vineyard of love, for the grapevines are blossoming!"

Song of Songs 2:15

I first heard this verse when my mom got me a t-shirt with it on it. When I first laid eyes on this shirt, I was very confused. But, she explained the meaning behind it and I realized that this verse is extremely relevant. The foxes are a metaphor for little things that distract us from true love. Not worldly, empty love, but true love-the kind of love described in 1 Corinthians 13. We as Christians need to begin to catch them if we want to experience this love. So, what exactly are the little foxes?

Well, I think they're different in every individual's lives. They could be suggestive songs that propel the imagination, sensual books or movies, a current, unhealthy relationship that you know is wrong, porn, or anything else that turns us away from 1 Corinthians 13 love. These are very hard things to say, yes, but according to King Solomon, if we hold onto our foxes, we'll never truly be able to experience the wonderful kind of love God has created for us. So, here's the food for thought: what are your little foxes and what are you going to do about them? The wonderful thing is, because we have a wonderful God, he can pull out his "fox-whacker" (like a weed-whacker, but it kills foxes instead) and give us a hand in subduing those pests. But the question is, will you let him in to help you deal with them? I hope and pray that you'll think through this as I am thinking through it too. Our Creator has given us a marvelous gift of love to enjoy; how could we waste it by settling for less than the real deal?