I think that
the great majority of the people of our world have at some time witnessed a man
and a woman exchanging vows at an altar.
All of the words spoken by them have been beautiful to be sure, even
bringing some of the onlookers to tears.
Nevertheless, we need to face the facts; the facts being that words are
simply that. Words are nothing more than
words, and by themselves will never hold a marriage together, let alone cause
it to be successful. And so, unless
those words that are spoken at a marriage ceremony are accompanied by something
else, then the chances of that union surviving would indeed be scarce. What might that something else be? It would be nothing other than a strong
commitment, that if practiced, will lead to an ever growing love. Yes, the more that we commit, the more love
will grow; then the more love grows, the more we come to know that person. All of this is what needs to be added to the
words that two people once spoke upon an altar.
But what does it all have to do with the title
of the article? What do the words, Jesus – Lover of Our Souls, have to do
with anything that I’ve written up to this point? I would say that the answer to this question
is simple. Just as the exchange of words
alone will never make for a successful marriage union, then in like manner,
when we acknowledge that the Son of God has become our true marriage partner,
and there is no other, then He is not made glad if the words we have spoken do
not confirm a true and a working union with Him. But if commitment is the reality, then just
as with an unfailing marriage between a man and a woman, there will follow an
ever growing love for Him; and the more that we commit, the more our love will
grow; then the more that love grows, the more we will come to know the One who
died for us.
When it
comes right down to it, there is but one thing that will cause us to not commit
to the Lord all that we are. That one
thing is called Idols. There is no sense in trying to identify them
all. If you jumped into bed one night,
but before falling asleep you decided to name as many of these as you could,
you’d probably still be at it when your alarm goes off in the morning. And if you really put your mind to it, you
would begin to discover that some idols can be rather deceptive, not exactly
the kind that would stand tall and strong before you. If you earnestly and sincerely asked the Lord
to reveal these, you may become stunned at the type of things that we give
precedence to over our beloved Saviour.
We who
believe are much like our father Abraham – that great father of the faith. It is written of him that he looked for a
city that has foundations, whose Builder and Maker is God. The book of Revelation speaks of that
city. Can you imagine a city fifteen
hundred miles, its length and width and height being equal, and all of this of
pure gold? I think that if we were to
behold something like that in our mortal condition, it would do much more than
simply boggle the mind. But being in our
glorified state by that time, we will surely be able to take it in. Yet we shouldn’t get too carried away with
the idea of such a city. As magnificent as
it will be, it is going to be viewed as but a small part of what the kingdom of
God in its fullness will be then. At
times we may make too much of those beautiful and no doubt towering structures
that will go for fifteen hundred miles in every direction. Yet even with this, it will never be what the
kingdom of heaven will be all about. The
kingdom of heaven will for all eternity be about the Son of the Living God –
our eternal Partner. If it wasn’t for
His presence there, then that city would stand in darkness. It is why John writes, And the city has no need of the sun or of the moon to shine upon it,
for the glory of God has illumined it, and its lamp is the Lamb.
But do we at
times make the kingdom of God out to be things that it is not? In other words, do we feel that we would be
perfectly content in that incredible metropolis, while just living among all of
our family members and friends, and this throughout eternity? Or what if Jesus told us that He was going to
bid us farewell at some point? Would we
be okay with that, as long as there would be no other changes in our situation?
We should hope not. And why?
It is because it is He who will be our eternal Friend and Lover of our
souls in a union to last forever – our Lord as our Head, and we constituting
the members of His body; and this in a kingdom created for Him. Through all of eternity past has it been the
Father’s plan for the Son, to rule and reign over a new creation of which there
will be no end- both He and the bride who the Father has called out.
Is He great?
Does He surpass knowledge? Is He
unshakable? Is He almighty? Does He exceed even His universe? The fact of the matter is that He is beyond
description. He is far beyond what
words can ever convey. He has no
measures. And He supercedes all that we
can imagine. This is the One who loves
us. And there is no other prize for the
children of God but the One who has laid down His life and has taken it up
again. Forever Reigns The Son!
J. Pecoraro
