By David Faust
Beauty is hard to define. Tastes and opinions vary greatly when it comes to music, art, and ice cream. As garage sales prove, one person’s trash is someone else’s treasure. A widely known adage reminds us “beauty rests in the eye of the beholder.”
Why does one person visit a crowded city and exclaim, “What a fascinating place!” while someone else mutters, “I wouldn’t live here if you paid me a million dollars”? Why does one person blissfully stroll on an ocean beach while another hates getting even a single grain of sand in their shoe?
WHAT DO YOU SEE IN EACH OTHER?
Have you ever looked at a married couple who seemed a bit mismatched and privately wondered, What does she see in him? or Why does he consider her attractive? Some say love is blind—but I disagree. Real love can see quite well, but it chooses to accept (or graciously overlook) the loved one’s imperfections.
Love isn’t blind; it’s honest and realistic. But it’s also merciful. Benjamin Franklin advised, “Keep your eyes wide open before marriage, half shut afterwards.” As time passes, marriage partners are wise to look past their spouse’s faults and remember what attracted them to each other in the first place.
FIERCE, UNRELENTING DEVOTION
In the Song of Songs, the bride and groom display fierce devotion to one another. Whether anyone else agrees with his assessment or not, the groom considers his bride beautiful beyond words. Likewise, the bride declares, “Love is as strong as death, its jealousy unyielding as the grave. It burns like blazing fire, like a mighty flame. Many waters cannot quench love; rivers cannot sweep it away” (Song of Songs 8:6-7).
On its surface, the Song of Songs is a vivid portrayal of married love, but many Bible students also view it as a poetic illustration of Christ’s fierce, unrelenting devotion to his bride, the church. Matthew Henry wrote, “No waters can quench Christ’s love to us, nor any floods drown it. . . . Nor will life, and all its comforts, entice a believer from loving Christ. Love of Christ will enable us to repel and triumph over temptations from the smiles of the world, as well as from its frowns.”
What does the Lord see in his bride, anyway? Doesn’t he see our glaring imperfections? If you want to find fault with the church, it’s not difficult to do. For many today, “church hurt” is all too real. Some believers who formerly held the church in high esteem now openly despise it, while others have decided to quietly walk away.
If beauty is in the eye of the beholder, the Lord Jesus must have very tender eyes. Doesn’t he see all the ugliness and harm done in the name of his church? How could he look at the church and see beauty there? How could he look at our foolish ways and see a bride without blemish, spot, or wrinkle? How could he see anything worth dying for?
We’re all flawed and eccentric, marred by inner ugliness no makeup or stylish clothes can hide. The Song of Songs declares, “Love is as strong as death” (8:6), and the cross proves it is true. Only fierce, unrelenting devotion would motivate the Lord to lay down his life for us—and motivate us to lay down our own lives, too.
Personal Challenge: Read the “Love Chapter” of the Bible, 1 Corinthians 13. In verses 4-7, insert your own name each time the word love appears. “_______ is patient, _______ is kind. ______ does not envy, ______ does not boast,” and so on. Then read these verses again and insert the name of the church where you are involved. How well are you and your congregation displaying the unrelenting, sacrificial love of God to others?
Thank you, David.