Love at First Sight: "Jesus and His Bride"
Song of Songs 4:9 “You have captured my heart, my treasure, my bride. You hold it hostage with one glance of your eyes, with a single jewel of your necklace.”
This book is commonly used to talk about a marital relationship and sex to teach a Godly perspective on both. I am reminded this morning of the ancient Rabbis that thought the texts had multiple meanings and the more you turned over the text and dove into the “white spaces” the more the greater meaning of the text would be revealed. I can’t help but hear Jesus’ claim of the Church to be His bride and that this verse is how Jesus looks at the Church. Jesus is in love with the Church like this man is in love with his wife. Jesus’ heart is captured by the Church; she is His treasure; she holds Him hostage with one glance of what she can be. He refuses to give up on her regardless and sees the best in her and dreams a bigger dream for her. Jesus desires nothing more than to be joined with the Church in such an intimate way that the result is the production of new life within the world.
I couple things are coming to my mind this morning. One is this thought that Jesus is madly in love with the Church and wants to be so intimately involved in the church that it resembles the intimacy of a husband and wife. Its as if Jesus looks at the church the same way we looked at our spouse as she walked down the isle. And Jesus doesn’t stop looking at the church that way; He continues to be madly in love with her and desires to be present in every aspect of her life. Not only that, but His love for her also causes great heartbreak to Him when she doesn’t love Him the same in return. When she makes it all about herself and doesn’t let Him in to those intimate spaces of her existence or when she replaces her love for Him with love for world it absolutely breaks His heart. My other thought is what would it look like for Amanda and I to love each other the way that Jesus loves the Church. Maybe Jesus demonstrates this love for the church to give me a tangible example to follow in my love for Amanda. And maybe the more Amanda and I consume each other with this love the more we realize how much Jesus loves the church and more we are empowered to love Him in return…….and then the circle goes on.
Lord, I come to you this morning confessing that I have not loved Amanda with the complete abandon that you would desire. I pray today that you would give me the grace to love her with complete abandon in the same way you love your church. I pray today that my heart would be captured by her glance and that I would be consumed with sharing the most intimate moments of my life with her. I pray that she would love me in the same way; that she would be capture by me and that she would share the most intimate spaces of her life with me. Continue to build our marriage in a love that resembles your love for the Church. Inspire Crossroads to be the kind of place where we view it as a marriage covenant and that we have a responsibility to share every intimate space with you and to never replace you for something of the world. Give us the grace to concentrate on loving you and giving to you instead of always taking. Help us to pour 100% of our energy into loving you; may we be captured with one glance of your saving love. Amen.
Jesus looks at the Church and it is love at first sight
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