Song of Songs and Love day
So this week is Valentine's day and while some of us find it such a pathetic and silly holiday wasted upon overpriced chocolate and mushy lovey dovey enticements to be with the One, to have someone to love on while we are being wined and dined by the one who is meant to dode upon us forever, I rather love to celebrate it. But not necessarily for all those reasons. I see it as a special intentional time to draw my heart back to my ONLY One, to renew my gaze and fixate my heart on the One who Loved me first. Going into this week I feel as though every day of this week the Lord wants to take me into a part of Song of Songs that reveals a new part of His fierce, wildly passionate and jealous love for me.
It thrills me to dive into my understanding of Jesus as Lover and first love around this time of year. I completely believe in celebrating Love and I think it is beautiful that we intentionally devote a special day of the year to emphasizing loving others and specifically a certain special someone. I believe that this day that we set apart should be the first day to renew the whole year in love.
Jesus has been teaching me so much about intentionality and devoting time to Him, to specifically learning His love.
I wanted to do something a little different this year that I would be delighted to invite you in on. Song of Songs is my favourite book of the bible, I have done study upon study on it over the past 4 years and it was the first book ever that really captured my heart that revealed the real person of Jesus to me and His heart for me as my First Love. I believe Song of Songs gives a beautiful story of a man who's heart and gaze is fixed upon ONE woman, who expresses and extends His passionate desires for her and who passionately pursues her, written beautifully poetically that is not just written literally but is meant to embody so much more. I see this man longing for His Beloved as a prophetic embodiment and representation of the real person of Jesus longing for His Bride to be- the Church. This story is where my young 19 year old self found the depth of Jesus' love for me 6 years ago. I pray that as I go through it once again that new revelations and truths will sink even deeper and that after the end of this week we will know and understand deeper intimacy with this Lover Jesus and to know just a little bit more- especially intentionally during this "love" week who's we are and who we are, found in the fury gaze of Love Himself incarnate in a man.
A Mare among stallions; a Lilly among thorns.
The start of this week my heart was so dry and feeling very tired, I have had a hard few weeks emotionally and physically and every other person's affirming words and affections just didnt feel enough. I went into this week angry and frustrated with others for leaving me dry when really, the rivers of Living Water and the Well that is always overflowing knew what I needed to find Him. His Grace upon me came as my emptiness and longing in dry land."How do you see me?! I need to be reaffirmed by your love Jesus!"
Chapter one
The first word the Lover speaks to His Beloved is
"I liken you my darling, to a mare among the chariot horses- beautifully shone on and glowing among others, your all I see- my eyes are only for you, my one and only"
when I heard His first words, reading it as though this Lover was speaking right to me, Jesus' voice in these words penetrated my heart and the thirst I felt and the quench I was desperate for was immediately quenched. Today, I needed to hear that I am the Only One He sees, I am not compared to, less beautiful than, or worth less because of..
The second word He speaks goes beautifully with the first,
"Oh how beautiful, Your eyes are like doves."
Today I researched dove's eyes, and I was absolutely wrecked. I laughed, I probably blushed and felt my whole heart warm up with delight. This is what I found.
"A dove's eyes only sees through one lense at a time- they can only see one thing at a time and that is usually their mate, in their undivided gaze, their attention is captured and will be captured as long as whatever or whomever it is is in front of them. This is why we call them "love birds".
whaaaaaat?!
Jesus' eyes have become astoundingly beautiful to me! "You only see me!? Your gaze can fixate to no other, I am Your Only One, you captivates all your attention. You don't just notice me, Im ALL you see. I'm not seen in comparison to anyone else or anything else.
What one Dove does the other does, when one takes flight, so does the other, they mirror each other all the time because they only have eyes for each other, they can only see the other.
"I see only you, you are my everything, I see you individually!"In Song of Songs 5:12, It says that the Lover has Dove eyes for His beloved and that is what in turn here in Chapter 1:15 makes her eyes like that of the dove swell. His first gaze has captured hers.
Later in Song of Songs 6:9 it says,
"My dove, my undefined is but ONE, my beloved is the only one of her mother, she is the choicest one"
Jesus through this man is saying "I see you as you are my only daughter- you are the only one I dode upon and long for with these eyes. You are my Lilly among thorns. I watch you, stare at you all the time, where you go I want to go, what you do I want t do. I take flight with you- I do everything with you. Your my beloved and my purpose and very essence and being is for you- I never want to do anything outside of what you do or who you are."
You are the cheifest among ten thousand Jesus!
This truth radically changes my heart as a feminine heart who struggles within this world full of comparison, inward desire to be noticed, craving in my flesh to have the fixed and constant attention and approval of some one, anyone. Jesus, our One sees us through eyes we have never yet known, eyes that see only one at a time, who sees and not just takes notice when we walk into a room, but whose gaze has been strictly upon us since the very moment we were fashioned in the heart of the Father before time.
Jesus came for the whole world, to create a family of sons and daughters grafted into His Sonship and in equality through the eyes of the Father, of course, yes!
But the narrow gate into Heaven sees each one of us. Our atonement happens as a life for a life. His life for one, and then one and then one; one at a time. You are seen as an individual within the body, ONE within the bigger family. We each come to Jesus one at a time, rare and unique to him and because we know this we can be assured that we are Jesus' favourite, His dove whom He sees with dove's eyes.
Jesus' eyes have become astoundingly beautiful to me! "You only see me!? Your gaze can fixate to no other, I am Your Only One, you captivates all your attention. You don't just notice me, Im ALL you see. I'm not seen in comparison to anyone else or anything else.
What one Dove does the other does, when one takes flight, so does the other, they mirror each other all the time because they only have eyes for each other, they can only see the other.
"I see only you, you are my everything, I see you individually!"In Song of Songs 5:12, It says that the Lover has Dove eyes for His beloved and that is what in turn here in Chapter 1:15 makes her eyes like that of the dove swell. His first gaze has captured hers.
Later in Song of Songs 6:9 it says,
"My dove, my undefined is but ONE, my beloved is the only one of her mother, she is the choicest one"
Jesus through this man is saying "I see you as you are my only daughter- you are the only one I dode upon and long for with these eyes. You are my Lilly among thorns. I watch you, stare at you all the time, where you go I want to go, what you do I want t do. I take flight with you- I do everything with you. Your my beloved and my purpose and very essence and being is for you- I never want to do anything outside of what you do or who you are."
You are the cheifest among ten thousand Jesus!
This truth radically changes my heart as a feminine heart who struggles within this world full of comparison, inward desire to be noticed, craving in my flesh to have the fixed and constant attention and approval of some one, anyone. Jesus, our One sees us through eyes we have never yet known, eyes that see only one at a time, who sees and not just takes notice when we walk into a room, but whose gaze has been strictly upon us since the very moment we were fashioned in the heart of the Father before time.
Jesus came for the whole world, to create a family of sons and daughters grafted into His Sonship and in equality through the eyes of the Father, of course, yes!
But the narrow gate into Heaven sees each one of us. Our atonement happens as a life for a life. His life for one, and then one and then one; one at a time. You are seen as an individual within the body, ONE within the bigger family. We each come to Jesus one at a time, rare and unique to him and because we know this we can be assured that we are Jesus' favourite, His dove whom He sees with dove's eyes.
Banquets and Banners
Today a huge truth that melted my heart from chapter two came from verse 4, "You call me to the banqueting table and your banner over me is love".
Wowwww, a banner announces the purpose for the banquet. When I see this picture, I try to comprehend the vast array of chambers in the heart of God, every one of them specific and particularly there to house and royally entertain us with His love. Putting it simply and for lack of better analogy I just see a giant house with more rooms than there are to count and each room is a banquet, a party room where the King is hosting us and royally entertaining us with the finest of everything in Love, giving us all permission to partake in Him. Every single banquet is created and hosted individually for the one. We are the purpose for His celebration, there is no other purpose. As the banner declares "Love" He is announcing that the only reason He is celebrating over us is because He loves us, nothing added or taken away.
"You are chosen into royalty, I love you because I love you and this celebration is over no other accomplishment or life success other than that."
The king calls forth a banquet for EACH of us, just Him and us to celebrate us for just being us in the arms of Love.
To know I don't have to wait a whole year to be celebrated over and that I don't have to reach any life accomplishment to have someone ( not just someone but the King of ALL Kings) host a party for me is the most ridiculously incredible feeling. I am worth celebrating over all the time, the celebrations in Heaven never stop over me. I am seen, I am recognized and I am celebrated over because I bring pride and Joy to someone for just being myself. I also have a permanent residency in that individual chamber of God's heart that has been prepared since He birthed the thought of me so long ago, It was His greatest pleasure to create me and at the same time think " I can't wait to celebrate over her the rest of time". I can enter into that banquet of celebration any time I want, it is my inheritance but it is also available to me now.
