Hide and Seek

Song of Songs 6:1-3

Friends

“Where has your beloved gone,
    most beautiful of women?
Which way did your beloved turn,
    that we may look for him with you?

She

 My beloved has gone down to his garden,
    to the beds of spices,
to browse in the gardens
    and to gather lilies.
I am my beloved’s and my beloved is mine;
    he browses among the lilies.”

I am a hunter. I have been hunting whitetail deer with my father and brother ever since I was 12 years old. We have logged some serious miles hiking hills and trails, as well as many hours sitting in deer blinds waiting for the monster buck to walk out. All the hiking and sitting had to be done at some place in the country side. We can’t just drive up to the pasture, sit in front of some tree, and hope to see a deer. No you have to hunt them. You have to understand their habits, tendencies, be patient, and be smart. The hunting part is very important and critical if you want some meat in the freezer. Bowhunting is even more difficult. Not only do you have to understand the deer, you have to get so close to them that you can smell them before you can even dream of taking a shot.

In our verse above, the “friends” ask the Shulamite woman where her man is so they can help find him. We read on that she knows exactly where he is. This would imply that the women spent some real time with her man and noticed his habits. She memorized his favorite places to go. She took notice of his daily routine and where he went every day. She even has every detail of how he looked memorized. It is safe to say that she spent some serious time with him.

Sadly enough, most Christians don’t take their relationship with Christ very seriously. For them, it is a Sunday visit or a meal ticket. You can ask any average Christian about Christ and what He did for them and you might get the John 3:16 answer, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only son…” That is great and all but what about the rest? The bride in Song of Songs knew her man inside and out. She can even tell you how he smelled. She had details of him that only she knew. In other words, she has studied him from the top of his head to soles of his shoes. She knew everywhere he liked to go and where liked to spend his time. So when the “friends” ask to help find him she can easily tell them where to look for him.

Does your walk with Christ reflect the average Christian or the Shulamite women? Striking question for all of us. The more I studied the habits of the whitetail deer and practiced hunting the better I got about putting meat in the freezer. At first, it was my dad that showed me and taught me how to hunt but at some point it was time to test my own skills and go at it alone.

Christ wants you to be a walking talking testimony to His power, grace, and truth. The only way you become that is to practice Christianity. How? Read the Bible every day. Write down what the Lord shows you. Tell a close friend what the Lord is showing you about this verse or that topic. Spend every day praying that Holy Spirit will open up the Word to you so you can write it on the tablet of your heart. In time, you will become a skilled evangelist for Christ. It will take some time to perfect, sharpen your skills, and understand the gifts the Holy Spirit has given you. The more you study the better you will understand Christ and how to walk by faith and by sight. Do you know where Christ is? Can you find Him? What is he like?

Prayer: Father, help us to understand you in detail. I pray that Holy Spirit reveals Christ to us through His Word like we have never seen before. I pray that our convictions are strong and we can defend them to whomever comes across our path. In Jesus name, amen.