Tag: covenant

Sacred Romance After Tragic Betrayal. [an old post]

On By MJIn ThoughtsLeave a comment

Love of newly weds cannot be expressed in just simple words. It’s something that is defined by passionate actions and the embracing of your beloved. The tender kiss says it all. But what happens when your beloved has the affection of another? What happens when that love is stolen from you? The one you gave your heart to gives their heart to another. Yet it is not only their heart that they give, but their body. In the bonds of marriage you became one, and yet only you remain faithful. Your beloved desired more affection, and more love. Prostituting their self, day after day they are found in the arms of someone else. And you do nothing except take them back.

This is the tragic love story of Hosea, the prophet who married a prostitute. Each night he sat waiting for Gomer, his wife, to return after just giving herself away to another man. And each night he fell in love with her more. With each moment he was separated from her, he desired her all the more. He desired to kiss her and hold her, even though she ran to the arms of other men. She reached a point of such betrayal against her covenant with Hosea, that she sold herself into sexual slavery . However, Hosea, so desperately in love with her, bought her back and took her again into his arms. With each act of prostitution, Hosea felt he could not resist his love for her. This is the tragic romance of Hosea.Though Hosea was in the middle of his own case of tragic love, there is a greater tragedy.

The same concept remains: a great love betrayed.

God, our creator, desires to be our Beloved. He wants our whole heart. This love He has for us is intoxicating and beautiful, just like that of any newly weds. It has passion. Yet we betray this passion. We were created by God to be only His, but we prostitute ourselves to other passions. We may not physically prostitute our bodies like that of Gomer, Hosea’s wife, however, we withhold the entirety of ourselves from God. We ignore His love and passion. Negating His love, we deny it by going to other sources, other lovers. We all want fulfillment, something to satisfy our desires of love and affection. In spite of this, we completely turn our backs on the one true source of happiness and joy. No passion is ever greater than the passion of God. God created us, therefore, we are His first love and He is ours. He realized long ago that we betrayed His love. But He has never betrayed His love for us. He even bought us back through the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. Jesus was the price. He yearns for us to return. He painfully watches us as we prostitute our lives with some other fulfillment like money, an addiction, a relationship, or a talent. What He offers to us is His sacred romance. Even night after night of us ignoring Him, He will take us back into His arms. Nothing can satisfy our desires like that of God’s love.

This acknowledgment of God’s passionate, sacred romance breaks my heart because I realize that each day and each night, I potentially betray the love of my beloved-God. I resort to some meaningless answers that continually leave me yearning for more. It may bring immediate gratification, yet, I remain craving for more.  Nothing has ever satiated my longing for more…except for my relationship with God.  Each time I go to a supplemental fulfillment, I recognize that my God is waiting for me, broken by my tragic betrayal, yet He is ready to take me back. I can’t begin to comprehend why He would want me back after such acts of adulterous, disloyal betrayal. Yet No matter how much you have prostituted your life, your love, He yearns for you!!! His passion never fails. His love never fails. He offers to me-to everyone- His sacred romance even after tragic betrayal.

 

**this is a great song showing the heart of God and His love–He is ruined without our love…**
[“One Love” by Yvonne Parks]

How long I have waited for you,
for you have stolen my heart

Now I am ruined for anything less
I could live forever in your arms
My heart belongs to only one love
My beloved, My beloved, My beloved
I am yours and you are mine

Why so many weddings….

On By MJIn ThoughtsLeave a comment

As many of you might have seen on either Facebook or Instagram, or even on here….weddings have become a huge part of my life, especially in recent years. In fact, in the past five years, I have been to 24 weddings and almost 30 overall. That’s not an exaggeration. I was curious one day and decided to write the weddings I have been to since 2009. Among friends and now even my parents, I have been compared to Katherine Heigl in the movie 27 Dresses. In case you are unfamiliar, her character is one that loves her friends dearly and is the seemingly eternal bridesmaid. Though somedays I do feel like the eternal bridesmaid or guest of weddings, I wonder when my day will come and when I’ll be able to have my day. 

Then I remember…its not really my day in the first place. 

The wedding (and marriage) is part of a bigger story, one that shows Jesus’ love to the world. 

My reason is pretty simple as to why I have traveled to weddings thousands of miles away and why I go to so many weddings every year. Yes, its a celebration of a couple that loves one another. Yes, its, for many, a religious symbol of their marriage. And yes, it may be for some, a way to get the legal rights of a spouse. But let me be clear about something: marriage is sacred. Marriage is a beautiful example of a love worth sacrificing for and one that represents and reflects the love of God. It is for that reason, that I have gone to so many weddings. 

There is something absolutely beautiful about seeing a man and woman stand together vowing to love one another in spite of [fill in the blank]. There is something even more beautiful when that couple has a Gospel-centered marriage that reflects the enduring love of Jesus Christ. When that couple vows before one another and God, in purity and in honor, my heart is overwhelmed again and again.

I had the privilege of being a bridesmaid for a dear friend of mine as she married her Beloved, another friend of mine, each I have known for years. The two of them had their awkward youth years, college years, and the years post-college trying to figure out God’s plan for their lives, including the question of marriage. During that time, despite personal struggles, other relationships, and at times frustration with their lives, they pursued purity, honor, integrity, and a life centered on the redemptive and beautiful love of Jesus. It was in that love, that their marriage was possible. It was in their love and foundation of Jesus Christ, that they shared their vows on Saturday. 

Knowing that I can go to a wedding and see the covenantal love vowed at an altar and seeing friends embark on the journey and adventure of a Gospel-centered marriage, gives me such joy and excitement. Not every wedding I have been to has had this foundation. My heart is saddened when I know not everyone has Jesus at the center of their marriage. However, when people ask me why I invest the time and money into all of these weddings, I cannot deny the fact that I genuinely love them and love being able to witness such love be celebrated. It gives me excitement for the day when I can say “I Do” to some man; a man who loves Jesus more than he could ever love me, yet because of his love for Jesus, his love for me pours over. 

I challenge you, whoever you are, that if you go to a wedding, or maybe you’re getting married, to not take it lightly. Not just the wedding, but the marriage. Please consider the significance of your decision. Those vows, the symbolism of the commitment, the sanctity of that which is before you…

Like I said, I intentionally make an effort to go weddings because I believe in what is being represented: the unconditional, steadfast, enduring love of Jesus Christ for the world represented in a commitment between a man and a woman.