On Friday nights I am a part of a ladies book club. We are going through a book called Captivating by John & Stasi Eldredge. Tonight we talked about what it means to be romanced by God. "Romanced by God" sounded funny to me when I started to read this chapter, the thought of being "romanced" by God seemed a little weird to me. Because when I thought of being romanced, I thought in the worldly sense of being given flowers, written sweet cards, or given gifts. But the more I read this chapter and put aside my fleshly thoughts God opened my eyes to how beautiful and intimate being romanced by Him really is.
The book talks about when a woman is in love she becomes more beautiful which I totally agree with. Just think about it, when you meet someone who just got married there is a certain glow about them. It's because they are being loved well. They are sharing intimacy with someone and being vulnerable and still being loved as they are. In all their junk and imperfections, they are loved unconditionally.
This is how we are with God but in the most beautiful way. Because God is love and we can only love ourselves and others because of God, our relationship with Him makes us more lovely and beautiful. When we have intimacy with God, know Him deeply, we become more lovely. Jesus calls himself the Bridegroom (Matthew 9:15, Matthew 25:1-10, John 3:29) This is the most intimate of all the metaphors Jesus chose to describe his love and longing for us and the kind of relationship he invites us into. When I am "romanced" by God, this means the God of the universe loves me, knows me inside out (knows the # of hairs on my head Psalm 139) and is drawing me to intimacy with Him. I know this takes time like relationships do. God who is perfect, will slowly sanctify me and make me more into his image and reveal more of Himself to me. As I fall more in love with Him, He is unveiling beauty in me so He can shine and be glorified.
In the next chapter, Beauty to Unveil, she does a great job defining what a "gentle and quiet spirit" means. When I think about this verse (1 Peter) I always picture this lady who is quiet, soft spoken, and just smiles alot. :) But that is not what that means. :) She defines a "gentle and quiet spirit" as to have a heart of faith, a heart that trusts in God, a spirit that has been quieted by his love and filled with his peace. I love that! That is what I truly desire in my life.
Just my thoughts at the moment. All raw and unedited.
Have a good night!!
