Being beaten with a cat-o-nine tails makes one bleed. Having a crown of spikes shoved into one's head makes one bleed. Being stabbed in the side with a spear makes one bleed. But when one says, "I'm bleeding love" they are not in need of medical attention. They are in pain. Heart pain. Like they've loved someone for so long, get nothing in return, and yet still continue to love them. It's unconditional love. It's agape. It's hard and painful. And it's how God loves us.
How often have we turned from our Creator for selfishness, pride, or fear? How often have we walk away from those commitments we've made with Him to gain satisfaction here on earth. Jesus says that those who do things for selfish gain "have received their reward in full."
The cross is a beautiful picture of Christ's bleeding love for us. But, the fleshly pain He endured on the cross is only a part of the pain that He feels for us when we turn away. Because He is God, and God is love, He has no choice but to always love us, even when we turn away. Does that make you want to shout about the joy of your salvation at the top of your lungs? That God, who knit us together in our mother's womb, will love us no matter how far our selfish and scared feet run away from Him? If it doesn't, then it's time to reevaluate ourselves.
So, then, if Christ loves us so much that He bleeds when we tear away from Him, then we, as examples of God, should love each other regardless of the consequences, even if it means bleeding.
"Jesus replied, 'You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.' This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important. 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'" Matthew 22:37-39
Bleeding means pain. Pain and love go together. You either love and get hurt (because we live in a broken world) or your heart freezes over and you feel nothing. As Christians created in the likeness of Jesus, we're called to love. And bleed. Because that's exactly what Jesus did for us.
by a girl that waits for Him and lives for Him.
"Since ancient times no one has heard, no ear has perceived, no eye has seen any God besides you, who acts on behalf of those who wait for him." Isaiah 64:4
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21.5.09
12.5.09
delight.
I've been reading Wild At Heart. Totally recommend it to anyone. John Eldredge hits tons of good points throughout it.
Here's some points that I just want to process through my head...
Damsels in distress. Mighty princes. Gallant knights. Tall towers. Evil dragons. Rescues. Fairy tales, right? What girl (or boy) doesn't dream of living out a Disney movie? "From ancient fables to the latest blockbuster, the theme of a strong man coming to rescue a beautiful woman is universal to human nature. It is written on our hearts, one of the core desires of every man and every woman." God gives us these desires, so why are we cautious? Fear is what Eldredge keeps coming back to. Men and women are afraid. Afraid to love, afraid to get hurt.
Let this quote sink in... "...but God...give[s] [love], again and again and again, until He is literally bleeding from it all. God's willingness to risk is just astounding--far beyond what any of us would do were we in His position." Later, he goes on to quote Revelation 12. It talks about what was going on in the spiritual world during Jesus birth. The world is the Devil's area, his designated place to roam free and influence whom he may. Think about it, God sent His Son to Satan's corner. Revelation talks about a dragon that is clawing and fighting to stop the birth, literally waiting for the Child to be born, so he can snatch Him away. Ultimate love? Coming to a world completely against His very nature, to save a people who have tuned their backs on Him. Now that's real love.
Ok, not what I got on here to talk about. Well, kind of. I wanted to process the feminine side of God's love. A woman's role in marriage to help, encourage, and support. But it's also to comfort, give life to, and please her husband. Now, God's not male, nor female and if marriage is an example of God's love, then how does that imply we're to love God? As a woman, like Eldredge says, I want someone to delight in me. Really, that's the core of a woman's problems, when she feels no one is pleased with her.
So, think about that in context of God. He wants us to delight in Him. He wants us to tell Him how beautiful and lovely He is. Sounds funny, but if I really think about it, it's life-changing. To know that when I'm rejecting God, He feels like I do when I'm rejected. It's vulnerability in one sense, but because God is God, both masculine and feminine, He's also strong. That's another part of God (like the Trinity) that's very hard, if not impossible to comprehend.
"Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart." Psalm 37:4
The original word for delight in Greek is `anag and it means literally to "be pampered, to be happy about, to be delicate." Believe it or not, God wants our attention and He wants to be delighted in. He doesn't NEED it, but He wants it. That's why He gave us a choice, because if we were robots who didn't have a choice, it wouldn't be real love and devotion to Him. Knowing we're made in His likeness, and knowing the difference between the sexes can change the way we love the people around us and most definitely, the way we look at God's love for us.
Here's some points that I just want to process through my head...
Damsels in distress. Mighty princes. Gallant knights. Tall towers. Evil dragons. Rescues. Fairy tales, right? What girl (or boy) doesn't dream of living out a Disney movie? "From ancient fables to the latest blockbuster, the theme of a strong man coming to rescue a beautiful woman is universal to human nature. It is written on our hearts, one of the core desires of every man and every woman." God gives us these desires, so why are we cautious? Fear is what Eldredge keeps coming back to. Men and women are afraid. Afraid to love, afraid to get hurt.
Let this quote sink in... "...but God...give[s] [love], again and again and again, until He is literally bleeding from it all. God's willingness to risk is just astounding--far beyond what any of us would do were we in His position." Later, he goes on to quote Revelation 12. It talks about what was going on in the spiritual world during Jesus birth. The world is the Devil's area, his designated place to roam free and influence whom he may. Think about it, God sent His Son to Satan's corner. Revelation talks about a dragon that is clawing and fighting to stop the birth, literally waiting for the Child to be born, so he can snatch Him away. Ultimate love? Coming to a world completely against His very nature, to save a people who have tuned their backs on Him. Now that's real love.
Ok, not what I got on here to talk about. Well, kind of. I wanted to process the feminine side of God's love. A woman's role in marriage to help, encourage, and support. But it's also to comfort, give life to, and please her husband. Now, God's not male, nor female and if marriage is an example of God's love, then how does that imply we're to love God? As a woman, like Eldredge says, I want someone to delight in me. Really, that's the core of a woman's problems, when she feels no one is pleased with her.
So, think about that in context of God. He wants us to delight in Him. He wants us to tell Him how beautiful and lovely He is. Sounds funny, but if I really think about it, it's life-changing. To know that when I'm rejecting God, He feels like I do when I'm rejected. It's vulnerability in one sense, but because God is God, both masculine and feminine, He's also strong. That's another part of God (like the Trinity) that's very hard, if not impossible to comprehend.
"Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart." Psalm 37:4
The original word for delight in Greek is `anag and it means literally to "be pampered, to be happy about, to be delicate." Believe it or not, God wants our attention and He wants to be delighted in. He doesn't NEED it, but He wants it. That's why He gave us a choice, because if we were robots who didn't have a choice, it wouldn't be real love and devotion to Him. Knowing we're made in His likeness, and knowing the difference between the sexes can change the way we love the people around us and most definitely, the way we look at God's love for us.