How long have we women sought after the perfect man?
Perfect romance? His name is God. His name is Love. He is the One who thought
of it all, thought of it first. Poems, songs, passion, intimacy—His word is saturated
with them. His word
which contains within a whole book dedicated to romance, a complete book which
begins with the marriage of Adam and Eve and ends with the great wedding
ceremony of Christ and His bride. (Revelation
19:7-9) It is a book that at its greatest shows us the power of His love;
the glory of His beauty.
My God did not just drop off love upon a runway, and
swoop away from my sin-filled life. To His own He gives a fire that burns
within: His spirit in us. “And
suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it
filled the entire house where they were sitting. 3And divided
tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. 4And
they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak…” Acts
2.
My God doesn’t keep His distance as I do. He brings me
close, brings me into His chambers, as Solomon did his bride: “Draw me,
we will run after thee:
The king hath brought me
into his chambers: we will be glad.” Song of
Solomon 1:4 He offers His home to me for all of eternity; offers His nail pierced
hand, offers His heart.
If searching for romance in His word was a quest to find
the perfect man, I would find none, save the Son of man, Son of God. He is the kind of Man
I want because He teaches me to be the kind of woman I want to be. He is the kind of Man who
reached out His hand to hold me, protect me, save me. “29He said, ‘Come.’ So Peter got out of the boat
and walked on the water and came to Jesus. 30But when he saw the
wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, ‘Lord, save me.’ 31Jesus immediately reached out his
hand and took hold of him, saying to him, ‘O you
of little faith, why did you doubt?’ 32And
when they got into the boat, the wind ceased. 33And those in the
boat worshiped him, saying, ‘Truly you are the Son of God.’ “ Matthew 14.
Romance repeats itself because we doubt. It is willing to say “I love you,”
over and over, because with His words He does.
My God has a jealous lover’s heart for me. But I don’t have
to be jealous of His love. Shared by a whole world, it never leaves me
neglected. 2 Corinthians 11:2 “For I
feel a divine jealousy for you, since I betrothed you to one husband, to
present you as a pure virgin to Christ.”
His
compliments don’t lie. John 17:17 Sanctify (purify) them in the
truth; your word
is truth. When He says, I love you,” nothing has ever contradicted it. When He
says, “you are beautiful,” nothing has ever indicated otherwise. Psalm 45:11 “So shall the king greatly desire thy
beauty: for he is thy Lord; and
worship thou him”
My God is the best provider I can ask for. He looks to the needs of my body, and the needs of my spirit—even before I ask. I tease my husband—tell him I’m sending him telepathic thoughts from my brain to his that I don’t want to say out loud. He answers warily, “You look pretty… you want to go out to dinner…that’s a new dress?…” God knows my every need because He can see into the deepest corners of my heart, knows them better than I do.
"The Lord is my
shepherd; I shall not want.
He makes me to lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside the still waters.
He restores my soul;
He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake." Psalm 23:1-3
He makes me to lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside the still waters.
He restores my soul;
He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake." Psalm 23:1-3
This deep well of love, this living water is offered to
all who thirst, to all of mankind. To my husband, He meets all needs of his
too. God is his Father of love, his Teacher, Example. He speaks every bit as much to a
man’s need for love as mine. He offers to the husband to shoulder the care, the worry. To the
husband who worries about providing for his family, He says, I’ve already
promised to do that. I’ve got your back. Psalm 127:1 “Unless the LORD builds
the house, its builders labor in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city,
the watchmen stand guard in vain.” To the husband who worries about being a
good husband, a good father, wonders if he’s got what it takes, He says, I will
lead you through the wilderness, just follow Me. For that is what God is like. “He
is our God forever and ever, and He will
guide us until we die.” Psalm 48:14. And the journey won’t end until we
reach His promised land.
A Man who can do that—He is the perfect, perfect Man: only a God-man could do all of
that and more. Only with a God-man does
a perfect romance exist. According to His will, He made me, put me in this
sin-cursed world and is allowing me to live imperfectly in it. According to His
design, He has made me with a heart that feels and yearns for this romance,
spiritually and tangibly, this capturing of my heart. According to His will, He
has made me to live here in this moment, allowing me to partake in marriage,
allowing me to live out a shadow of the perfection that is yet to come. He allows me to stumble, falter
at times, as I learn and grow and mature, and gradually dawn the wedding
garments, oil the lamp, and wait for the coming of my Groom. He allows me to live now, love
now, romance now, and when love in this life is imperfect, it serves to make me
yearn for the best that is yet to come, yearn for the thousandth anniversary, ten-thousandth, and
the eternity of anniversaries to come.
Lord, help these 21 days turn into everydays. Help me to
rely on Your love, live out Your love, and learn to experience Your love in the
created world around me. Help me to live here, where You’ve placed me; love
here, those You’ve given me. Help me to look to the day the final veil will be lifted from my
face, so that I can see you face to face, standing before my Groom. Help me to seek a
love filled live, a life of relationships, of heart, a life lived in a symphony
of romance.
(A note of love from my "perfect" man.)
My love sonnet from You today, these
words: “For your Maker is your husband--the LORD Almighty is his name--the Holy
One of Israel is your Redeemer; he is called the God of all the earth.” Isaiah
54:5
Hosea 2:19 And I will betroth you to me forever. I will betroth you to me in righteousness and in justice, in steadfast love and in mercy.
Hosea 2:14-17 “Therefore, behold, I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak tenderly to her. And there I will give her her vineyards and make the Valley of Achor a door of hope. And there she shall answer as in the days of her youth, as at the time when she came out of the land of Egypt. “And in that day, declares the Lord, you will call me ‘My Husband,’ and no longer will you call me ‘My Baal.’ For I will remove the names of the Baals from her mouth, and they shall be remembered by name no more.
Care to see where we've been on this 21 Days of Romance? (Seeking out romance in His word) You might like to see:
awaken the heart to see and feel love.
still feel.
stones.
Day 17: Romance Knows Us Intimately.
Day 18: Romance is seeing His heart more clearly, recognizing Love in my midst.
Well done Amy. Thank you for taking the time to write and share these 21 days so thoughtfully.
ReplyDeleteThat photo just *tugs* at my heart ~ absolutely beautiful! Thank you for walking me through these 21 days. It was so growing for me. How perfectly, perfect!
ReplyDelete