Song of Songs presents a an ideal couple - and their eyes are only for each other. When problems come up, they don’t work through the problems by dwelling on past potential spouses, or imagining life without each other, they work it out together, because love is a chosen pursuit. She’s an aggressor, she takes offense on the relationship, the romance. She voices it, “Hey, I know you’re busy, make time for me.”

 He’s gracious, he’s accommodating, he does more than just say, “Okay, I guess,” he makes it fun. Love draws each other out. And love is a chosen pursuit.

Perhaps right up there with Revelation, Song of Solomon has been debated and disagreed upon for centuries. For much of church history, the predominant view has been that this book is NOT about sexuality and married love, but about Christ and the Church. The 19th century brought overwhelming change into finally taking the Book at its word. What does it have to say about our messed up world when IT talks about love?

Believe it or not, the proverbial Utopia has come in the power, work and grace of Jesus Christ! Even all this, though, is just a preamble! This is just a precursor! A foreshadow! A down-payment! Much remains. The fact that you and I can identify that something is profoundly wrong with our world, so much it compels us to want to get on the wagon of many causes in trying to fix it, tells us that we live in a world that still needs fixing! Christ is coming again to set all things right!

The fact that Paul is arguing for resurrection primarily and preeminently because of Christ’s resurrection should cause us to consider Christ’s resurrection. The Gospel accounts gives us a picture of a Resurrected Body in Jesus at least that is flesh, bones, tangible, that wants to eat, but has other, admittedly, super-natural, not-what-we’re-familiar-with abilities. What we see of the Resurrected Christ in the Gospel accounts may very well point to the qualities of our resurrected bodies.

The Second Coming, like Jesus’ first coming, provokes two predominant reactions. Consider: we have the joy of the shepherds. The wonder and awe of Mary and Joseph. The rest of Simeon. But also, we have the deeply disturbed sinners like Herod and the rest of Jerusalem. Because Jesus' coming means He’s in charge. So shall it be when He comes again!

Jesus doesn’t throw more laws, more rules, more regulations, more programs, more governmental incentives, more platforms at the problem, He goes to the problem itself, and He uproots it, and He gives sinners new hearts. He gives sinning people the very Spirit of Himself, and He lives through us! That’s what we need. But we wrestle. We sin again. We mess up. Sin gets done to us. The fall, the curse rears its ugly face. And we begin to suffer. We begin to find ourselves under the burden of it all because there remains something to be done in our lives, doesn’t there? Do you feel that angst? That waiting? That expectation? That, "I’m on the verge of complete and total celebration in Christ but something holds me back."

You and I are made, formed, created to be worshipers, is because even though you or I may not adoringly respond in heart and mind to the Spirit of God 24/7, we are nevertheless 24/7 adoringly responding in heart and mind to something. And you might say, “No, that’s not true, sometimes I’m just depressed,” and I’m just saying sometimes adoration leads people to depression when it’s not expressed, not sent towards the right object of worship.

You wouldn’t word it this way, but it seems like everything you pour your life into, you always come up empty! Depressed! Sad! More tragedy! More defeat! And so you think, “Do I need a new job?! Do I need a new location? Has this new hobby I’ve been enjoying lost its enjoyment? What’s the deal?” You're working for food that perishes....

The King doesn’t save Himself. He doesn’t get down off the cross. Rather He dies for the world to see. He dies for His opponents who just knew He wasn’t the Messiah, to die. He dies for His Disciples who were certain that He was the Messiah! For all those watching, Jesus died. But He was the King! He was the Messiah! He was bringing a Kingdom! He and the Disicples took a covenant together! So why are the evil ones winning? Why is Rome winning?! Why are the corrupt leaders winning?! What sort of Kingdom did He bring in?

The Church doesn’t describe a building but a people. Early Quakers called facilities Meetinghouses. Why? Because the Church meets in the meetinghouse, just like the church is welcome to meet on a hilltop, or in a town, at a park, in somebody’s backyard, in somebody’s house. The church doesn’t describe a building but a people... What does the Bible say the church is?