I like to think about things that take my breath away: people I am absolutely in love with, nights so clear that I can see the Milky Way, sitting in the middle of a live orchestra performance when the music invites my heart to well up inside of me… What I have a hard time believing is that God shares similar emotions and thoughts towards me. Do I really bring that kind of joy to the heart of God? The answer is yes. With that in mind, it’s no wonder that God is describes himself as jealous and Paul is quick to follow:
” I am jealous for you you with a godly jealousy. I promised you to one husband, to Christ, so that I might present you as a pure virgin to him.” 2 Corinthians 11:2.
Paul speaks of his godly jealousy. I like how John Addison, the English poet defines jealousy, “Jealousy is that pain which a man feels from the apprehension that he is not equally beloved by the person whom he loves entirely.” Paul’s jealousy does not come from a place of insecurity or neediness; it comes from a place of unbridled passion and love, the heart of God. It’s the kind of jealousy a man feels towards a wife who has turned away from him. They belong together in life, not apart. I think that there is another component to godly jealousy. It’s parental; we hate to see our children go in directions that rob them of joy and suck the life from them.
So why is it that I can so easily be distracted from following the one who loves me so fiercely? The one who has pursued me and given his life for me?
Lord I want to love you as you love me. Make me like that love song so that “I only have eyes for you.”
Klueh
Sixty-six books in a year 