"Young Woman"

"The king is lying on his couch, enchanted by the fragrance of my perfume. My lover is like a sachet of myrrh lying between my breasts. He is like a bouquet of sweet henna blossoms from the vineyards of En-gedi." (S.O.S. 1:12-14 NLT)

  As well as to be expected, this portion of Scripture is one that might cause some to be uneasy; some even to skip over the exploration of the Text. What a shame that would be, because there is much to see about how the heart of a believer in Christ must, I say, MUST, long after and look forward to being in the presence of Christ Jesus! If there were to be any other description for the oil missing in those lamps of the five foolish virgins, it would be their lack of longing to be with the 'Lover of their soul.'
  You can try to make this about the passion of physical love; it is all too easy for that to happen. But there is something we must understand about how God speaks to the human heart: He uses those things that relate to the human heart! Paul understood this concept quite well, as he said, "I am made all things to all men, that I might be all means save some." (1 Corinthians 9:22b)
  Yesterday I heard a message that was rather interesting, as it involved something I was sharing about the other day; how God's foreknowledge of what we will do, good and bad, is worked out within His perfect plan. It was a pretty good discussion, as the question evolved into that of free will; as if to say, How can we assume that we have free will, if God already knows everything we will do, before it is going to happen?
  Strange illustration, to say the least, but nonetheless, it is what it is! Even if you wanted to, you cannot change what is already going to happen; if you try and rebel and assume you are changing what God has planned for you, then that is the plan that is set before your life. It's like the crazy ride of life; you think you can change your destiny, but it is your change that becomes your destiny! How in the heck do we get to use free will on that crazy ride?
  I am more convinced today than yesterday, Solomon wrote this towards the end of his life. He must have, in order to be aware of the choices he made and the way God moved upon his life. There is really no difference between that of a parent and what they might do for protecting their children. They know they cannot stop them from doing certain things, but they can put barriers and warnings before them, to try and move them in certain directions.
  Basically, there is no stopping us from getting into trouble, because it is bound to happen anyway; but there is precautions to be applied ahead of time, just in case. In God's case, it is mercy, and grace, and a whole lot of love...

"But you are not controlled by your sinful nature. You are controlled by the Spirit if you have the Spirit of God living in you. (And remember that those who do not have the Spirit of Christ living in them do not belong to him at all.) And Christ lives within you, so even though your body will die because of sin, the Spirit gives you life because you have been made right with God. The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your moral bodies by the same Spirit living within you." (Romans 8:9-11) NLT