Day 230

Song of Songs 1:1-4:16, 1 Corinthians 12:1-26, Psalm 99:1-9

People often pick out the bits of the Bible that are not quite what you might expect, either the really bloody bits or the rather raunchy bits, you certainly might not expect some of the comparisons that are made in the Song of Songs. I can remember from my GCSE English all about metaphors and some of the metaphors in here might be far from what we expect.

Song of Songs is a series of love poems that get very intimate, but lets be honest, we have read about a lot of concubines and adultery, so for this love poem to include references to the more intimate side of things is not entirely unexpected. The thing is, it is all in the context of love, not in the context of a one night meeting. A number of times we hear the words “do not arouse or awaken love” early, it is for the right time once love has been established. This is far more about love than about the physical.

On a different note as we turn to Paul, I can remember having a conversation with a group of people many years back at a festival not dissimilar to Soul Survivor or New Wine. The gist if the conversation was to decide whether people had been “laid up for the Lord” or “slain in the spirit”, ie – had you fallen over whilst being prayed for. This approach was entirely unhelpful as if falling over during prayer was an essential badge to be attained, without it you are not a true Christian. Although there is nothing wrong with falling over, Paul is telling us that different things happen to different people and we should not all expect to have the same spiritual experiences. There are different gifts, note the words “to one there is given…”, “to another …” and “to another…” There are many gifts that the Spirit will give and they are all for the common good, we should not jealous or start comparing we should just be open to the Spirit and wait.

Just as some of the content of Song of Solomon may have surprised you, open yourself to the Spirit and allow yourself to be surprised by the gift that is specific to you.