The Cost of the Kingdom

"What is the most read love poem in world literature? One cannot be certain, but more than likely the Song of Solomon has been read and reread by countless millions of Jews and Christians for almost three millennia. The Song of Solomon or the Song of Songs, for me, is a refuge. I go there when I grow cold and have lost my way. It is there that I often rediscover the ancient path that leads back into the presence of God. "It is there that my dry husks of religion are changed into the banqueting house of His Kingdom. As I read and reread familiar passages, meditating on the words of Solomon and the Shulammite professing their love for one another, God always permits me to rediscover His presence. And there He surprises me with his intimate loving kindness, while I marvel how I or anyone else could ever forget God's love and the reality of His Kingdom. It is there I discover what the Kingdom of God is about and why men and women throughout the ages have left all to follow Christ. "I believe that the only reasonable response to Jesus' demand, if one has tasted the mystery of the King and His Kingdom, is to pay Him His price and purchase the treasure in the field. Any sacrifices made pale into insignificance in the light of Christ's sacrifice for us." Author: Elliott Tepper Published by Christian Focus Publications, 2013, 128 pages. ISBN-10: 1-78191207-6 ISBN-13: 978-1-78191207-2