ManageYourEmotionsBook8.5x5.5_RevJULY.indd

I hope you are taking this personally and seeing it as a sym- bol of God’s love for you.Too many people perceive God as the big policeman in the sky standing by to slap your wrists when you mis- behave.While our behavior certainly matters, it is overshadowed by the love and compassion He has for the crown jewel of his creation – people. That is certainly the case of the man in our story.With that in mind, let’s examine the multiple responses that occurred in the wake of her beloved’s persuasive and persistent romancing. Her heart was moved. As the Bible says, “Her feelings were aroused. My heart went to him as he spoke” (5:4,6).That’s a good thing . . . for starters. It’s an indication that love was alive and she desired to reconnect with her husband.The flame obviously still burned brightly. Understand, however, that feelings alone are not enough. Plenty of apathetic people have had their feelings aroused without ever demonstrating any faith. Countless masses have been like that seed in another one of Jesus’s parable that sprouted in rocky soil but soon withered away.They “Receive the word with joy . . . believe for a while, and in time of temptation fall away” (Luke 8:13). As Martin Luther wrote: Feelings come and feelings go And feelings are deceiving; My warrant is theWord of God, Naught else is worth believing. 81 Her hands were perfumed. As the bride stated, “My hands dripped with myrrh, and my fingers with liquid myrrh” (Song of Solomon 5:5). Some interpret this to mean the woman applied myrrh before going to the door, yet I believe the perfume was left there “On the handles of the bolt” by her lover (Song of Solomon 5:5). Earlier, he had said, “I have gathered my myrrh along with my balsam,” done in preparation for his return (Song of Solomon 5:1). Symbolically, this is an obvious reference to Jesus. Myrrh was

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