Do you love her/him so much others look like thorns? Song of Solomon 1-2

Song of Songs 2:1-2 (NASBStr)

 “ I am the rose of Sharon,

The lily of the valleys.”

 “ Like a lily among the thorns,

So is my darling among the maidens.”

The book of Songs is telling us a story about love and how two lovers express their love for each other.  There is certainly a Christ-loves-us-and-gave-Himself-for-us theme throughout the book, as it is in all of the Bible.   But, the story is also about the love Solomon has for his Beloved.   As they exchange loving comments about each other, to each other, they express what many lovers have said, or should say to the one that captures their heart.   In the above text we have the bride begin by claiming to be the "rose of Sharon" and the "lily of the valleys."  There are some divergent views of this portion.  Some believe she is saying she is unique and special.   Therefore the groom is to lover her for this specialness she possesses.   There may be some truth in that aspect but in keeping with the tone of her other phrases, she seems to worry about how she is viewed and whether she "fits" in (see 1:5-6 as one example).   There is also the consideration that, if this is a picture of Christ saving the church, the church does not, or should not, view itself as worthy of the love Christ is showing.   There is also a consideration of the phrase itself.  She is a "lily of the valleys."   She is one of many and nothing special to behold.  She seems to be saying I am nothing special and, yet, I am loved.   The groom's response seems to fit that context even more.   He to be telling her not to look at herself as one of many lilies in the valley, but that he sees her as the a lily among thorns.    He sees her as the lily and the other maidens in the land are to him as thorns.   So, she is special to him.  Her beauty and his love for her has made every other lily in the land nothing but sagebrush and tumbleweed.   That is what true love does.   Those men who think they can continue to look for and at other women once they have found "true" love miss out on the point Solomon is making here for us.  True love captures us and diminishes all other objects.   Same as when we come to Christ.   When we love Christ all other objects fail in comparison.   Paul told Timothy about a man named Demas, who left Christ because he loved this present world more than Christ (1 Timothy 4:10).   When we fail to notice that the one we love is the ONLY one worthy of love, we start to stare at and search for other things and other people.   Christ is the ONE whom we love.  Our spouse is the ONE on this earth He gave us to love.   She/he is the lily among the thorns.   She/he may only view herself as a lily of the valleys, one of many.   We ought to see her/him as the one among many thorns.  Nothing can compare to the one we love or the ONE we love.