A man who finds a wife finds a good thing… (Proverbs 18:22)

1. Pursue with time.

Woman
Tell me, you whom I love:
Where do you pasture your sheep?
Where do you let them rest at noon?
Why should I be like one who veils herself
beside the flocks of your companions?

Man
If you do not know,
most beautiful of women,
follow the tracks of the flock,
and pasture your young goats
near the shepherds’ tents.
(Song of Songs 1:7-8)

2. Pursue publicly.

Woman
How handsome you are, my love.
How delightful!
Our bed is soft grass;
the beams of our house are cedars,
and our rafters are cypresses.
(Song of Songs 1:16-17)

He brought me to the banquet hall,
and he looked on me with love.
(Song of Songs 2:4)

Young women of Jerusalem, I charge you
by the gazelles and the wild does of the field,
do not stir up or awaken love
until the appropriate time.
(Song of Songs 2:7)

3. Pursue with words.

Man
I compare you, my darling,
to a mare among Pharaoh’s chariots.
Your cheeks are beautiful with jewelry,
your neck with its necklace.
We will make gold jewelry for you,
accented with silver.

Woman
While the king is on his couch,
my perfume releases its fragrance.
The one I love is a sachet of myrrh to me,
spending the night between my breasts.

The one I love is a cluster of henna blossoms to me,
in the vineyards of En-gedi.

Man
How beautiful you are, my darling.
How very beautiful!
Your eyes are doves.

Woman
How handsome you are, my love.
How delightful!…
(Song of Songs 1:9-16)

4. Pursue with care and integrity.

Woman
I am a wildflower of Sharon,
a lily of the valleys.

Man
Like a lily among thorns,
so is my darling among the young women.

Woman
Like an apricot tree among the trees of the forest,
so is my love among the young men.
I delight to sit in his shade,
and his fruit is sweet to my taste.
He brought me to the banquet hall,
and he looked on me with love.
Sustain me with raisins;
refresh me with apricots,
for I am lovesick.
May his left hand be under my head,
and his right arm embrace me.
(Song of Songs 2:1-6)

Reflection Question: How has Christ’s pursuit of you changed the way you view your relationships?