That is a song we sing at our little church sometimes.
It is pure emotion. I love it. Like the Mystics of old (and now),
it is about a relationship built on love and trust... romantic words
often being used by mystics and others, even Jesus... Bride and
Bridegroom language was often used to describe the excitement,
thrill, anticipation of arrival and affection of the relationship...
As you may know, the infatuation stage of a relationship can last
for two years or more... so when you emerge from the "trance" of
eros infatuation, you may find yourself married to a person and
wondering what happened... or you may emerge from that stage
of love and find that you have underneath it a deeper, more abiding
love (Agape). Likewise, we have some of the same experiences in
our relationship with Jesus... the excitement of new discovery and
forming a commitment to Jesus... the thrill of this new found love...
the welling up of emotions and anticipation of the next encounter
in worship, retreat or personal devotions...
My deeper Agape Love and the depth of commitment is centered
on what Jesus taught and exemplified... I have been giddy over the
pure emotion of worship and praise, of retreat and prayer groups...
but the deeper, more abiding joy comes from the depth of Jesus'
teachings on society: love, power, economics, compassion, empathy,
justice, peace, community, healing, Kingdom values... my love affair
with Jesus comes in His vision for how THIS PART of the Kingdom
of God is to be for ALL people in love... I love The Word in the Gospels.
I love how He loves me and us, and know that He calls me to love others
whom He loves... I love who I am because I love Jesus, and who I am
becoming when I suspend the judgments I once held, the hatreds I once carried
and the attitudes I once embraced that put me at odds with what Jesus taught
and exemplified as Kingdom values. I love the message and its possibilities for
the world. And I love the messenger of God's Kingdom values, and call Him "Lord"
of my life.
Like in dating or marriage relationships, we must learn to love, respect
and honor those whom our loved one loves - family, friends, acquaintances,
causes, passions, commitments... if we love him/her, so we will strive to
love them... and so it is with our relationship with Jesus... we, the Bride,
are called to love those whom the Groom loves, even though we might
not normally, left on our own, hold much affection for them - but we do not
want to be left on our own when it comes to Jesus... we want to live this
love affair to the fullest... and it is NOT just about our eros love for Him
and me (you), but about living in a deeper, abiding Agape Love for Him
and those whom He loves...
It is about the two becoming one - the Bridegroom and Bride... adopting
Jesus' vision, morals, convictions, passions and values as our own...
we will remain individual, independent persons, certainly, but willingly
embracing what He embraces brings me closer to Him... not doing so
puts me at odds with Him... I want to grow as one with Jesus, even as that
was His prayer for us (John 17:22)... my prayer is that those around me in
the world will see more and more of Him and less and less of me in me as
I grow in this relationship with Jesus and live what He taught and
exemplified in the world.
Falling in love with Jesus, falling in love with Jesus, falling in love
with Jesus is the best thing I've ever done!
Pastor Jamie
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