To Be Alone With You

Abraham brings his own son, Issac, to the top of the mountain to sacrifice him to the Lord. Before he is able to kill his own son, God speaks and stops Abraham.

"And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou anything unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me."

I always read that story and believed the moral was only to have faith and be ready to sacrifice. It wasn't until a discussion with a friend that this viewpoint completely changed. During Abraham's time, child sacrifice was the foremost idolatry among his neighbors. Imagine living in a town where parents willingly gave up their children to gods that don't love them. Yewah was different. While God witnessed Abraham's faith, I believe the purpose was to bring forefront a radical new theology that the only human sacrifice to take place would be 14 generations in the future. It would be Jesus.

Until recently, I only had a heart for the old testament God. I believe this is because I only knew how to feel His love through good work. We read our Bibles, we sing our hymns, and we double the money and pass it on to the next person. It is our own version of taking Issac to the mountain. We say, "Yes Lord, I have donated to my church. I feel your love for me." His love never left, and your deeds bear no influence on your standing with Him. He is not moved by your money, your knowledge, or your time. He cares about you. Anything you DO is simply an extension of His will, not His love.

What if Jesus wants to love us as completely as a spouse? Song of Solomon was not a literal depiction of human love. It is an allegorical depiction of Christ's love for His bride(the church, and each of us as individual believers). As uncomfortable as that may sound, our perversion of bodily intimacy is not possible through Jesus. He is the perfection of romantic love. We have our failed relationships and we think, "God if only you would let me love again so I can have intimacy." When in reality, Jesus is jealous of our full devotion. So often in our services to God, we forget we are to be head over heels in love with Jesus Christ. For He provides the hiding place only rivaled by our earthly marriages, and even then His love surpasses. The intimacy is His, not ours. His tenderness will not lead us to heartbreak.