Romanced by God

The idea of God as a lover or bridegroom (old testament word for fiancé) is a baffling and awkward thought for most people. Most people who have read Song of Songs would probably admit to feeling a bit uncomfortable the first time they read it. It’s a book of the Bible that is essentially a series of love letters or poems between a lover and his beloved. The lovers are decadent in their praise and expressive in their appreciation for each other. The woman says of her beloved, “I delight to sit in his shade and his fruit is sweet to my taste.” (Song of Songs 2:3 NIV). The man says to her, “Let me see your face, let me hear your voice. For your voice is soothing and your face is ravishing.” (Song of Songs 2:14 MSG). There is no over-theologizing their physical attraction for each other as they revel in each other’s bodies and express anticipation for coming together. It’s beautiful. The love in Songs is representative of the love God has for us. Jesus refers to himself as the bridegroom (fiancé) in passages such as Matt 9:15, Matt 25:1-10, and John 3:29 and the church as the bride he is coming back for. The powerful bond between two lovers and the feeling of being in love are a strong representation of our relationship with God. There are several levels of intimacy in that relationship, starting with clay-potter, but the greatest level of intimacy is the lover-beloved level which we see played out in Songs. God wants us to know him that deeply and he wants us to rest in his love much like the woman in Songs. So, that was my challenge over the past couple days. I challenged myself to rest in his love and to feel him delighting over me. We all want to be loved and delighted in like the couple in Songs, but God already loves us that much. We know He “so loved the world,” but we sometimes forget that He super loves and is delighted by the individual. (John 3:16). So, instead of listening to praise and worship music like I usually do in my times with God, I made a playlist that reflected the love and adoration in Song of Solomon, but from the man’s perspective. I picked love songs I’ve heard that I wished a man would sing to me and listened to them as if it were coming from God. It was amazing. I walked around for the rest of the day with the kind of glow of a woman who is in love and in return is deeply and passionately loved, because actually, that’s what I am. 

Check out the bottom of the blog page for my "Romanced" playlist.

                                            Much Love