1 The Best Song of All Why God Put a Love Story in the Heart of His Word I am now utterly convinced that on Judgment Day, the Lord Jesus is going to ask each of us one question, and only one question: "Did you believe that I love you?" --BrennanManning Women''s prisons are my favorite places to speak. There I see a thirst for God that I seldom see outside prison walls, at least in our wealthy Western world. In prisons I see parched hearts soaking up the truth of the Bible. I see lifes prouting before my eyes--life where there has been no life. Flinty faces soften, tearless eyes moisten. I always leave the prison amazed. The God of the Bible is still opening blind eyes and transforming hearts. He is still coming to the outsider, the one whom the world does not value.
In a women''s prison near Milwaukee, Wisconsin, God took my breath away with something only He could orchestrate. Fifty of the women at this correctional institute had completed one of my video Bible studies. Now I was going to speak to them. When I walked in, they gave me a royal welcome: jumping, clapping, and cheering. I laughed--how I wished we were allowed to hug! There is no bond like the bond of Christ. The light we recognized in one another''s eyes was the same light: the light of Jesus, the light that overcame our darkness. I opened by asking these precious women to share ways Jesus had met them in the study they had just completed. One woman said, "I didn''t want to come to this study, but my cellmate kept bugging me.
I told her to shut up, because there was no way I''d be caught at a group of Holy Rollers. One day she tossed her copy of your book on my bunk and said, ''Just look at it. If you come and hate it, I promise I''ll never bug you again.'' " She paused, overcome with emotion. Then she looked up, whispering, "I''m so glad I came." We all exchanged smiles of understanding. Her story was ours, too. Each of us had resisted God.
But He had persisted, ambushing us with His love. As I began the study I''d planned for that night, I did so with trepidation. As I had prepared for the gathering, I sensed that God wanted me to show them His love for them as revealed in the Song of Songs, one of the most misunderstood books of the Bible. But as I was driving to Milwaukee, I began to wonder if I had indeed heard from the Lord. What am I doing presenting such a challenging book to them? I thought. They'' ll go back to their cells and read this very passionate love story and think, What in the world? What is this doing in the Bible? What could this possibly have to do with God and me? Yet I knew how badly they needed this message. Many of these women in prison had never experienced earthly love, either from parents or husbands. A very high percentage of them had experienced horrific physical or sexual abuse.
They also made choices that landed them in prison and filled them with shame. Even after they came to Christ, believing that He died to pay their debt in full, they struggled to hold on to the truth that they had been cleansed and were beautiful in His eyes. And so I plunged ahead, pleading for God''s Spirit to move. I asked them to open their Bibles to the Song of Songs, a small book in the Old Testament. "This book has been captivating hearts for thousands of years," I told them. "Sometimes it''s called ''The Song of Solomon.'' But like ''King of kings'' or ''Lord of lords,'' the title ''Song of Songs'' implies this song is the very best song of all. And what is that? It is always the love song of Jesus.
" I told them that it was an earthly love story, a song of love between a man and a woman, but that it was intended to help them understand a much deeper love story: the love between Christ and His bride. I explained, "God uses many metaphors in Scripture to show us that Christianity is not rules or ritual but relationship. The Lord compares Himself to a friend who is closer than a brother, to a father who cherishes his child, and finally, the most intimate metaphor of all, to a bridegroom who rejoices over his bride. "When God brought Eve to Adam to be his wife, Adam erupted in praise, and God said, ''A man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh'' (Genesis 2:24). This excitement that Adam felt for Eve is the same joy God feels for His bride, for Isaiah tells us, ''As the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you'' (Isaiah 62:5)." The women were listening intently. I saw both hope and doubt flicker across faces. Could it be true ? "This verse about a man leaving his father and mother and holding fast to his wife is repeated three more times in Scripture.
It culminates in Ephesians when, after it appears the fourth time, a secret is revealed:''A man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church'' (Ephesians 5:31-32)." The church , I explained, means the bride of Christ, true believers. The beauty of marriage as God intended it is meant to illuminate His mystrious relationship with us. "Your Maker," the Bible tells us, "is your husband" (Isaiah 54:5). I knew some of these women would struggle with this picture, in the same way that some struggled with the picture of God as their Father. Just as many had been abused as children, many had been abused as wives. Instead of terms of endearment, they''d been called cruel names, "rash words," which Proverbs 12:18 says "are like sword thrusts.
" Instead of feeling cherished in the marriage bed, they''d felt used. Instead of knowing faithfulness, they''d experienced treachery as their husbands walked out on them and their young children. Instead of being encouraged to be the women God created them to be, they''d been drawn into addictions and crimes. I looked at Lila, remembering her story. She''d told me earlier that though now her security was in Jesus, it used to be in her husband. She''d been the getaway driver for his bank robberies. Now they both had long prison sentences and their children were in foster care. I took a deep breath and said, "I know this is hard for so many of you.
Many of you have never been loved like this by an earthly husband. But a beautiful earthly marriage is possible in Christ, and that is the picture in the Song." I saw the longing in their eyes. "But even if God never gives you a godly husband or turns your husband into a godly man, you have a Bridegroom who absolutely cherishes you like the bridegroom in the Song." "That''s the truth," one woman said. "Jesus will never walk out on me." I nodded. "that''s right.
Never will He leave you." Then I gave them a thumbnail sketch of the Cinderella story of the Song. "A great shepherd-king falls in love with a peasant girl who works in one of his vineyards. He chooses her, loves her, leads her through the wilderness, and goes away, but he will come back for her. She is transformed in this story because of his cherishing of her. Do yous ee? This is a pointer to the greatest love story, the true love story that has the power to melt our hearts." I showed them how the book begins with the peasant girl saying, "Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth! (Song 1:2). I asked, "Have you ever had the experience of a verse in the Bible jumping out at you, giving you just what you need? Or of God''s still small voice whispering to you? Or of the Lord absolutely surprising you with circumstances that show you how mindful He is of you?" They were all nodding, smiling.
I said, "When that happens, you''ve been kissed by the King." "Oh!" they chorused. How I loved showing these women the gospel in the Song-the great good news of how loved they are. "At first,'' I continued, "when the peasant girl comes into the presence of this great shepherd-king she feels unworthy. She says, ''Do not gaze at me because I am dark'' (Song 1:6)." I looked out at their faces, all the beautiful colors of our Creator''s paint box. I wanted to be very clear. "This is not a reference to race.
She says she''s been working all day in the vineyard, darkened by the sun. She also feels unclean and unattractive. She compares herself to the dirty, weathered tents of a tribe called Kedar. You probably can identify, for you work at manual labor all day in your prison uniforms, without air conditioning and without deodorant." "Uh-huh, sister, you got it." All that these women had to make themselves presentable was a sliver of soap. No flattering clothes, shampoo, deodorant, makeup, and not even a decent comb, as it could be uesed as a weopon. (At Christmastime, if allowed, our prison ministry gives each of them deodorant and shampoo.
The women are as ecstatic as if we''d given them diamond necklaces.) "But what she says about her outward appearance is really an expression of the uncleanness she feels in her soul. The unworthiness. That is how we are when we first get close to a holy God. Like Peter, who said, ''Go away from me!'' (Luke 5:8, NRSV). Or Isaiah, when he said, ''Woe is me!.I am a man of unclean lips'' (Isaiah 6:5)." The women nodded again.
I didn''t need to explain to them what it was like to feel unworthy. I continued, "I want you to understand how the king sees this p.