Is Unfailing Love Possible?

DO NOT AWAKEN LOVE "UNTIL IT FEELS INCLINED"

The Song of Solomon also provides lessons for unmarried Christians, especially for those looking for a mate.  The young woman felt no love for Solomon. Putting the daughters of Jerusalem under oath, she said:  "Do not try to awaken or arouse  love in me until it feels inclined." (Song of Solomon 2:7; 3:5) Why? Because it is simply no proper to develop a romantic attachment for just anyone who comes along.  A Christian desiring to marry, then, is wise to wait patiently for the one he or she can truly love. 

Why did the Shulamite girl love the shepherd?  True, he was handsome, resembling "a gazelle";  his hands were strong like "cylinders of gold"; and his legs were beautiful and strong like "pillars of marble."  But he was more than just strong and handsome.  "Like an apple tree among the trees  of the forest" was her "dear one among the sons."  Fora girl who was faithful to Jehovah to feel this way about the man, he had to have been spiritually inclined. -Song of Solomon 2:3, 9; 5:14, 15.

What about the Shulamite girl? Though she was beautiful enough to attract the attention of a king who at the time had "60 queens and 80 concubines and young women  without number," she view herself as "but a saffron of the coastal plain" -a common flower.  The girl was remarkably modest and humble.  No wonder she was "like a lily among thorns," anything but common to the shepherd!  She was faithful to Jehovah. -Song of Solomon 2:1, 2; 6:8. 

In the Scriptures, powerful admonition  is given to Christians to marry "only in the Lord." (1 Corinthians 7:39)  A single person who wants to marry refrains from forming romantic ties with unbelievers and looks for a mate only among loyal worshipers of Jehovah.  Moreover, to face life's realities while maintaining marital peace and spiritual  unity calls for faith in and devotion to God-desirable qualities to look for in a prospective mate.  Those  are the very qualities  that the shepherd and the young woman found in each other. 

Next time: Is Unfailing Love Possible? - MY BRIDE 'IS LIKE A LOCKED GARDEN'

From the Watchtower magazine, 2015