THE PRINCIPLES OF A LOVING, GODLY RELATIONSHIP – WOMAN TO MAN (PART 1 – BE COMPLIMENTARY)

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth—for your love is more delightful than wine.

Pleasing is the fragrance of your perfumes; your name is like perfume poured out. No wonder the young women love you!  

How handsome you are, my beloved! Oh, how charming! And our bed is verdant.

Like an apple tree among the trees of the forest is my beloved among the young men.

Listen! My beloved! Look! Here he comes, leaping across the mountains, bounding over the hills. My beloved is like a gazelle or a young stag. Look! There he stands behind our wall, gazing through the windows, peering through the lattice.

My beloved is radiant and ruddy, outstanding among ten thousand. His head is purest gold; his hair is wavy and black as a raven. His eyes are like doves by the water streams, washed in milk, mounted like jewels. His cheeks are like beds of spice yielding perfume. His lips are like lilies dripping with myrrh. His arms are rods of gold set with topaz. His body is like polished ivory decorated with lapis lazuli. His legs are pillars of marble set on bases of pure gold. His appearance is like Lebanon, choice as its cedars. His mouth is sweetness itself; he is altogether lovely. This is my beloved, this is my friend, daughters of Jerusalem.

Song of Songs 1:2-3, 16; 2:3a, 8-9; 5:10-16

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

What does a loving, Godly relationship look like?

The answers are found in the Song of Songs, the last of the three wisdom books attributed to Solomon, Proverbs and Ecclesiastes preceding it. We will spend time studying relationship from the perspective of the man and woman over the study of this book, the woman coming first since she is first to speak. We’ll also look at the role friends play in supporting Godly relationships as they are a part of the dialogue in these eight chapters of scripture as well.

And so our journey through the Song of Songs and our subsequent look at love begins. Today, we’ll examine how a woman being complimentary toward her man is part of having a loving, godly relationship.

As we begin, it’s of interest that we don’t know who the main characters of this dialogue are until we are well into reading the book. In fact, we don’t know that the name of the woman speaking until Chapter 6. Her name is Shulammite. We’re not sure of her background but it’s very obvious that she is in love with Solomon and vice versa as we will see when we examine the principles of a loving, Godly relationship from the male perspective. The essence of what we need to take away is that love, when it is the way God intends it to be, is immersed in unconditional, deep affection that is two-way. That affection is displayed in many ways and today we will see it shown in the way partners admire one another with a close-up look at Shulammite’s complimentary attitude toward Solomon.

I don’t know about you but I simply adore her spirit of love as expressed through her words. They are words from the heart as she details all the things she cherishes about her mate. Note there are no words of criticism, although there is always room for that in a relationship. Instead, Shulammite stays focused on all the positive things that she appreciates about Solomon. 

The delightful kisses she receives from his mouth. The pleasing way he smells when she is near him. His handsome appearance and the charm that accompanied his good looks.

Yes, there were many men she could have, alluded to as trees of the forest in her poetic words, but she had one that bore sweet fruit, a man that blessed her with nourishing love. Like an apple tree among the trees of the forest is my beloved among the young men.

Shulammite loved Solomon for his body as well and discussed it in affectionate terms, taking time to compliment each part. His head being purest gold, his eyes being similar to doves, his cheeks like perfume, lips dripping with myrrh, arms rods of gold, body polished ivory, and legs pillars of marble on bases of pure gold. His arms are rods of gold set with topaz. His body is like polished ivory decorated with lapis lazuli.

In sum, Shulammite simply calls her mate, Solomon, altogether lovely.

The word of God would ask the ladies several questions regarding their relationships:

How do you view your partner?

What would you say about him to others? What do you say to them? Are you more complimentary or critical?

Do you seek out the positives in your mate or do you take them for granted, more easily drawn to the negative things about them?

These are all questions you should ponder and I pray when you do, you’ll consider the heart attitude of Shula mite for I believe the Lord is using her as a prime example of what a loving, Godly relationship looks like from the perspective of the woman toward her man.

Today’s call is to be complimentary, showing your mate just how much you appreciate him. Tomorrow, we’ll look at the importance of cherishing companionship.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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