Christian Living

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Larry Lilly's Letter Thursday October 21, 2010

For the last several days two ballads have been rummaging around in the old noggin and all I could think of was the first line, but I think I have had the words and the tune with me for most of my life. The first is the theme from "High Noon" with Gary Cooper and was the first song of its genre, a musical thumbnail of the story and thus a song of love dealing with the often conflict of human love and duty. Who could ever forget the first line in the vintage Tex Ritter twang, "Do not forsake me o’ my darlin."

The second was "Once I had a secret love, that lived within the heart of me." This was the ballad of Calamity Jane's secret love for Wild Bill Hickock. Joyce and I with two of the children visited both graves in Deadwood, South Dakota some years ago. I have no idea as to why these songs have been bouncing in my head; other than the observable fact that love, the true blue kind at the heart of a troubadour's song is rare in our time.

Most of my contemporaries assume that true love is simply the doing of duty and thus there really is no conflict. I think most of my contemporaries also put teeth under their pillow in hopes of a visit from the tooth fairy.

H.L. Mencken stated:

"Love is the triumph of imagination over intelligence."

While in many cases this is true, just look around; there are good and ennobling examples to keep hope springing eternal in the human heart. Such is the case for today's verse in Genesis 29:20:

And Jacob served seven years for Rachel; and they seemed unto him but a few days, for the love he had to her.

In a time when many marriages do not last as long as the ceremony, the idea of working as little more than a slave to win the heart and hand of the girl you love seems preposterous. Yet we have the record of the indefatigable love of Jacob for Rachel. We find no mention of what the moderns call, love fatigue, in this relationship.

As the love of Jacob for Rachel, so the love of Jesus for those who are redeemed by His sacrifice, and the instruction that all Christian husbands for all time and in every place are to love their wife as Christ loved the church and per example as Jacob loved Rachel. Easy to say.

Larry Lilly Copyright © 2010 Use with credit

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