Your Profile

Song of Songs 8:5

“Who is this coming up from the wilderness leaning on her beloved?”

In today’s world we call it profiling.  Police officers profile bad guys, they have a certain look, act a certain way like running when the cops come around.  Other times we pan the crowd and see someone who does not fit the surroundings.  We all do it.  Most of the time it is not done in poor taste or behavior, we naturally just notice the characteristics of our surroundings.  Hunters notice certain aspects of what they are hunting for.  Teenagers in high school are pros at profiling but get into trouble when that profiling moves into judgement.  

Here we have the friends saying something about the two star crossed lovers coming out of the wilderness.  Now, one would expect the two lovers to be leaning on each other and holding hands, that is very normal.  It is also normal for them to appear in love.  Seeing someone in love is very noticeable because we have all “profiled” this behavior. 

Like we discussed previously, this book is a love story of how the Lord God views his church.  As Christian’s we should read the parts marked out as “she” and wonder if this fits our relationship with the Lord.  In verse 10 of chapter 7 “she” says, “I belong to my beloved, and his desire is for me.”  Can you say that His desire is for you?  Psalm 149:4 tells us, “For the Lord takes pleasure in His people; He will beautify the afflicted ones with salvation.” This verse tells us that you are the Lord’s pleasure. He loves you more than you can know. Luke 11:13 also lets us know that the Father loves us. It reads, “If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” God is crazy about his creation and sent his son to die on cross so He could have them close to Him in heaven for eternity. God loves you. End of story, period, close the book. He is not mad. He sees us through the atoning blood of His son Jesus Christ.

Do you belong to Christ? This may seem like a weird question but one that should be asked.  But most of all, do others see your passion for Christ, like we read about in Song of Songs under the verses marked “she”?  Just like the friends noticing the couple coming out of the wilderness leaning on each other, do people around notice your love for Christ from afar?  When people I know see me in public they say hi but they always ask, “where is Tina?”  Like she has been surgically bonded to me and without her, I look alone and awkward.  The same needs to be true of your relationship to Christ.  You should feel alone and awkward when moving away from Christ. 

You have a look, a profile if you will.  That profile should include the Lord, and when people see you they should notice that you and Christ go together. In Acts 4:13 when Peter and John were before Sanhedrin and they made their case it says, “When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.”

I am reminded of a sermon I heard a long time ago.  The preacher asked the crowd if it would be OK if you only talked to your wife or kids once a week?  He goes on to ask if it would be OK if you only chatted with them for 30 minutes twice a year?  He then went to ask if someone else could borrow your kids and wife for a period of time?  You get the picture here.  After a while, your profile would not include them at all. You would be profiled as someone who does not even have a family.  I have said it before and I will say again, “You are the best Christian somebody knows.”  You are being profiled!  What will they see? 

Prayer: Father, I pray that our profile includes you. Further more, I pray that I decrease and You increase just as John the Baptist prayed. I pray that when people meet us, that they see Christ. Help us to have spiritual eyes to see, spiritual ears to hear, and a heart after you Lord. In Jesus name, amen.