None of this blog is manufactured for show. Certainly there is pressure on a pastor and his wife to have an ‘exemplary’ marriage. We are not perfect. And we have our share of spats and squabbles. I am selfish a mile deep . . . But it is better than the ten mile standard when we were first married.
I give this disclaimer, because anyone who takes the time to read this blog will be tempted to roll their eyes and dismiss this as some form of mandatory pastoral virtue signaling. But my goal isn’t to compare my marriage to yours. My goal is to explain some unexpected results from preaching through the Song of Songs.
I love my wife. And I can honestly say that I love her more than I loved her when I first said “I do”. I have at times been choked up just reading the Song of Songs. This has caught me off guard since this book has a reputation for being racy and sexually provocative.
But what catches in my throat is the amazing grace and beauty and enduring friendship that God has given to me in my wife. Linda is indeed my darling, my love. She is captivating to me. She is awesome as an army arrayed for battle, as the Song puts it. She is both formidable and beautiful.
It is not lost on me that God has granted me an unearned blessing in my marriage to such a godly woman. She has brought to my life the richest of blessings.
Through down and dark years to the heights of glories that include fruitful ministry and birthing and raising children, Linda has been with me, solid by my side when I let her down . . . smiling with me and laughing at the timely providence of our Maker.
We are a team. A force to be reckoned with. I love her, I admire her, I rejoice in her, I am still in awe that she said, “yes” (and obviously meant it).
These realities have caught in my throat as I’ve read the Song of Songs many times. Despite the fact that the book is indeed sexually provocative, it is also romantic in its intentions. It doesn’t work for one night stands. It has no power to move as long as it remains in the realm of the physical.
But as I dissect and study the book, it has been reforging within me a gladness and joy in my wife. Why did God look down on me with so much favor that one summer back in 1993? I cannot answer that question, but I am genuinely moved to gratitude to God for the amazing gift of Linda Filcek.
