Today's Scripture Reading (December 6, 2022): Song of Songs 8
There is an old joke about a
married couple approaching their fiftieth anniversary. And one evening, when
the pair were alone, the wife asked her husband a question. "Do you love me?" According to the story, the husband pauses as he
gathers his thoughts and then carefully answers his wife's question. "I told you I loved you when we got married fifty
years ago, and I will tell you if I change my mind." The tragedy of the story is that I know some people struggle with saying the words "I love you." And yet, those are precisely the words that many of us need to hear,
especially those
closest to us.
Dr. Jeff Schloss believes
that husbands and wives must sincerely speak the words "I
love you" to their spouses. Schloss insists that "wives who do not have the confidence that they
are loved and cherished by their husband in fact die sooner, and they die
sooner than single women." And
according to Schloss, this is a reality regardless of the culture in which we
have been raised. We need to hear from our significant others that we are
loved.
It is
something that I try to do. I don't want anyone close to me to wonder if they
are loved. I tell my wife, kids, grandkids, and even friends that I love them
as often as possible. I never want to leave the presence of someone without
them knowing that fact. And I have been telling my grandkids that I love them every
time I have left them since they were babies. And I often tell them that when
life gets rough, that is the one thing that I don't want them to doubt. Grandpa
loves them, and regardless of what is going on in their lives, I will still
love them and be there for them.
As the Song
of Songs draws to a close, we get invited into one of the couple's most private
moments. The two are together, and their voices have been lowered to a whisper.
They have been vocal with each other about the erotic treasure each of them
possesses for the other, but at this moment, all they want is to hear the voice
of the other speaking the important truths of the moment. Here, they express
their love and anything else that needs to be communicated at this moment. Here
they speak those three words which some seem to struggle to say; I love you.
And I don't ever want you to doubt that, so let me keep saying the words so you
can hear them.
Tomorrow's Scripture Reading:
1 Kings 10
No comments:
Post a Comment