Love backs us into a corner. It asks for everything we have. And nowhere does love work more deeply than in marriage. Marriage is about exposure. It is about truth between two people, and it is about the opportunity to know and to be known. Sex is the handiwork of love and the tool of marriage. It is sacred ground, a gift filled with beauty, grace, and power. Song of Solomon demonstrates with beauty, reverence, and clarity the celebration of love, marriage, and sex. It offers practical and reliable guidelines for these essentials and more: Decisions about dating Choosing a spouse Keeping romance in marriage Making and celebrating memories Leaving a legacy for family Nowhere do we find a more relevant word about these important matters, nor a more beautiful portrait of celebration than in this poetic expression of God's gift in this Song of Solomon. Gary Crawford is Senior Pastor of Westside Baptist Church in Gainesville, Florida, where he has served in that capacity for 26 years. He holds an undergraduate degree in biology from the University of West Florida in Pensacola and a Master's degree in Theology and a Doctor of Ministry degree, both from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas. He has served as President of the Florida State Board of Missions, as trustee of the Baptist College of Florida, as trustee of the International Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention, and on various committees of the Florida Baptist Convention and the Southern Baptist Convention. He is active in his own community and provides leadership for mission work on most continents. He has been married to his wife Freda for 37 years; they live in Gainesville, Florida, as do their two children with their spouses and their four grandchildren.
