Focus: Come Away! (Pt.1)

Text: Song of Sol.2:10

"Rise up my LOVE, my FAIR one, and come away."

Let us consider how the lady, asked to come away, is described. She is presented or introduced as, "My love, my fair one." In verse 16, she says, "My beloved is mine, and I am his…" In chapter 6, verse 3, she says, "I am my beloved's, and my beloved is mine…" This is the bond of love, not of blood. As blood is thicker than water, so is love thicker than blood. This is intimacy and affinity, not just kinship. They are near and dear to each other. They belong together and own each other. They are each other's possession. 

I am actually referring to the relationship between Christ and His church or God and His people. Child of God, God says to you, 'You are my love and fair one!' Please, stop believing in the lies of the devil! Stop beating yourself up and condemning yourself! You are Christ's love and His fair one. You are highly esteemed by your God. He holds you in high regard. Paul says of you, "But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption" (1Cor.1:30). For God's sake you are in Christ, and on the basis of grace God has made Christ become your wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption - I mean everything that made it possible for Him to accept and grace you in Christ. 

In and through Christ, the beloved of the Father, you are now and forever loved and accepted. Grace has beautified you and made a difference in your life.

You are Christ's love. The word here in the Hebrew is ra‛yâh. It's used in the feminine. The masculine is rêa‛ or rêya‛. The word speaks of love, female, fellow, other, or an associate. Christ loves you as His fellow, as one who is associated with Him, and as one who shares your humanity. In addition to that, Christ says, "You are the fair one." The Hebrew word is yâpheh, which means beautiful, goodly, pleasant, comely, elegant.

Let us consider certain Scriptures and see how it is used. In the Song of Solomon, the word is used no less than nine times. Through the Song of Solomon, God is repeatedly saying to you, 'You are my fair one.' In Gen.12:11, Abraham says to Sarah, "You are a fair woman to look upon." In other words, "You are a beauty to behold. Your beauty is recognized and affirmed." In verse 14, we read, "And it came to pass, that, when Abram was come into Egypt, the Egyptians beheld the woman that she was VERY FAIR." The Egyptians saw what Abraham saw about her wife, and even more. She was very beautiful even at her age. Concerning Leah and Rachel, we read that "Leah was tender eyed, BUT Rachel was beautiful and well favoured" (Gen.29:17). The word 'but' shows contrast between the two of them. Rachel was WELL favored, but Leah was not. The word 'well' is the same as fair or beautiful. Your beauty is incomparable; only a contrast can be seen between the worldly and you - the believer in Christ. It is said of Joseph, "And Joseph was a goodly person, and WELL favoured" (Gen.39:6). Joseph, a male, is said to be beautiful. When David appeared before Samuel, the Scripture says that he was "ruddy, and withal of a beautiful countenance, and goodly to look to. And the LORD said, Arise, anoint him: for this is he" (1Sam.16:12). David, another male, is beautiful and goodly to behold. 

The soul is sexless, and in Christ there is neither male nor female, according to Paul. Soul-beauty is the main beauty.

Child of God, you are beautiful, and because of your loveliness and comeliness, God is calling you to come away with Him. Worldliness and carnality mar your beauty and corrupt your purity. You are IN the world, but NOT OF the world. You are different. You are loved and beautified by Christ. Come away with Christ. Spend time with Him, and your beauty will become more and more enhanced.

by Bishop Moses E. Peter