I once heard a wise teaching from an old philosopher (I don’t remember who) regarding teaching a people to build a ship. Although I will not able to quote it, the teaching goes like this:
The best way to teach a people to build a ship is not to give them the right instructions to do so. But rather to build within a people a longing for the sea. It’s sunsets and sunrises. It’s winds and waves. It’s wild nature, salty smells, and swimming creatures. If a people has a longing for the sea, they will, with great zeal, find a way to build a ship, so to enjoy the sea in all is splendor. In the same way, the best tactic in developing a passion in people to spread a passion for God is to build within them a longing for God and His gospel truth. That is, to help them to taste and see the greatest joy that is found only in Him, and in so doing, unleash them. In so doing, they will not be able to stop spreading a passion for the God of love!
I have found this teaching to be true in my life, and it is the greatest reason why I write at all. But more specifically, it is the reason for this post today.
Isaiah 62:4-5
You shall no more be termed Forsaken,
and your land shall no more be termed Desolate,
but you shall be called My Delight Is in Her,
and your land Married;
for the Lord delights in you,
and your land shall be married.For as a young man marries a young woman,
so shall your sons marry you,
and as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride,
so shall your God rejoice over you.
As the bride of God, I want to know what He thinks of me. And this passage reveals much about what God thinks of us. His people.
In Ephesians 5 Paul uses a word picture to show us the great love our God has for us. He compares a marriage relationship between a husband and a wife, to the relationship Christ has with us. In the comparison, we are the bride of Christ. This has no sexual implications. The focus of this word picture is on the greatest love that we know of as human beings, between husband and wife, and the covenant made in that union of love.
As Paul explains in Eph. 5, God has shown His devotion and love for us in that He gave His life for us. That is, He is not only committed to the covenant He made through Christ to the church, His bride… but He is devoted to His covenant because of the love He has for His bride.
And Isaiah 62:4-5 paints such a wonderful picture of God’s love for His bride. Us. This passage compares the exhilaration and joy, and even smittenness a groom feels or experiences over his bride, to what God experiences over His people.
Think back to the exhilaration you felt in the puppy love stage of dating your mate. Or even the excitement of the days just before you were married. Do you remember the rush you felt over being around that person. Well, this and much more, is what God experiences for us as His bride every second of every day.
What an amazing thought! That God is that exhilarated about you, and me, and every person who believes and has Christ’s imputed righteousness counted for them. He is that in love with us.
Take a moment and think about this. Did you know that God loves you that much? Did you know that He felt that way about you?
Spend some time in prayer talking to Him about this. How does this realization make you feel? How does it affect the way You see Him, and how He loves you? Does grace flow from this reality into your heart producing thanksgiving? – Tell God what you are thinking.
It is my hope that this idea may encourage us to see a deeper side of our King’s love than we may have seen before! And as we see of His great love for us, that we would experience the reality of it, and long for more of it. As God’s greater love takes over in place of what we come to see was a smaller love that we were merely settling for, His purpose and His mission become increasingly important to us. And as we live out His mission for our lives, we find ever increasing love prevailing in our hearts, and flowing out to the world!
Love Uncensored 