In last week’s lesson, focusing on Song 1:9-11, we discovered the truth that God prepares beautiful gifts for you, His children, gifts that will accent and enhance your beauty in His eyes. And these gifts are yours for the taking, just by entering into a relationship with Him! Why? Because God loves you THAT much! Now let’s take a look at what Song of Solomon 1:12 has to teach us about the gifts God gives to us:
“When my King-Lover lay down beside me, my fragrance filled the room.” (Song 1:12) (from THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language © 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson. All rights reserved.)
Hum. The first time I read this, I thought, “this sounds kind of self-promoting! I mean, MY fragrance fills the room . . . This person is proud! We’re not supposed to be proud!!!”
But let’s take a closer look at the entire verse: When does it say that my fragrance fills the room? “When my King-Lover lay down beside me”!
Just what is this text saying? That the time when we are most pleasing, when our “fragrance” fills “the room”, is the time when we are with our Lord and maker! We are complete in Him! We are beautiful in Him! We are pleasant to be around when we are in Him!
Paul says the same thing in Phil 1:11 “. . . Having been filled with the fruit of righteousness which comes through Jesus Christ . . .” NASU Paul is telling us that the things that make us lovely to be around, the fruit of the Spirit (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness and self-control – Gal 5:22) can only be in us through Jesus Christ! Only when we are in His presence can we be the people He wants us to be!
This isn’t a statement of pride at all! It’s a statement of utter humility. Only in Him can we put on kindness, compassion, humility, gentleness and patience! And this is one of the precious gifts He gives to us: The ability to be what we desire to be to others!
Enough to ponder for today. Please DO ponder this though, my friends. Ponder the truth that when you are in Christ, God gives you the gift of being truly lovely. In Him, you bear the fruit of the Spirit that can only come from Him! In Christ, you truly emit a pleasing fragrance to fill the room!
Please join us next Saturday for Lessons on Relationships From Solomon, Lesson 12, as we continue to look at one more gift that God has for each of us!
In His love,
Lyn
Lyn Chaffart, moderator, The Nugget, Scriptural Nuggets ( www.scripturalnuggets.org), Answers2Prayer Ministries, www.Answers2Prayer.org .
(To access the entire “Lessons on Relationship From Solomon” mini-series, please click here.)