Set me as a seal upon your heart, as a seal on your arm, for love is as strong as death, jealousy is fierce as the grave. Its flashes are flashes of fire, the very flame of the Lord.
Song of Songs 8:6
Three times in the Song of Songs the listeners are charged to not stir up love until it's ready. This verse is the reason why. Love is like fire, a beautiful, but dangerous, unpredictable thing that needs to be controlled. Biblical love is more of a wood burning stove than a bonfire in the back garden.
The beloved is asking her lover to commit himself to her: to set her as a seal upon his heart and arm. Marriage isn't just a piece of paper; it's a seal of approval to say that we are prepared to commit to each other for life. The bonfire in the back garden is out by the 6th of November, but the wood burning stove can keep you warm all winter.
Love is as strong as death, but as with any fight there can only be one winner. Love and death might be well matched, but love beats death. Jesus proved that when he died for love of us and rose again victorious over the grave.
Uncontrolled forest fires can be massively destructive. So can unrestrained love. But a wood burning stove can keep you warm on a cold night. Married love is one that can sustain you til death do you part, and you are united with Christ forever if your faith is in him.
"Heavenly Father, I want to thank you personally for the blessing of marriage that I see in couples I love. Help me in singleness or marriage to love you with an undying love. Forgive me for times I have been unfaithful, hurt others and been hurt myself, and please restore me to faithful love of you and of others. In Jesus' name, amen"
