fear of man
Especially since I started dating the man I'm going to marry, it has been hard for me to say Psalm 73:25 as if David's words were my own.
Whom have I in heaven but you?
And earth has nothing I desire besides you.
The truth is, I do have something on earth that I now desire more than anything I've ever desired. More than adventure and travel and chasing dreams. I've been reading this book called Sacred Marriage by Gary Thomas, despite the fact that more than a year bridges me from marriage. Thomas says that when we love our spouse, we love God.
I've seen this recently with my beau's dog, Penny. I like dogs in general. But I especially love this dog, mostly because it is his dog. I've kidnapped her for a while while he's out of country. The smile on my face is so big when she jumps into the pond at the city park. She ruffles herself out after a minute or two of swimming and then just jumps right back in. She chases after me as I jog around the pond, leaving a trail of water both in the air and on the ground behind her. I love it. I love it all. I worry about her when I'm at work and she's stuck in a tiny apartment.
On the jog around the pond today, I saw just what Gary Thomas was talking about. By taking Penny to the park, I am loving CJ. By feeding her and petting her and worrying about her, I inadvertently am loving him.
And so it goes with God. By loving CJ, I am loving God. He is God's creation, one in whom God takes pleasure in. One in whom He desires to be more like him. And so when I write CJ a letter or make him a necklace, or patch up his forever-holed favorite jeans, I am loving God.
I think this thought needs some caution though. The reason: when I use this argument to justify that I am spending enough quiet time with God, I am wrong. Loving CJ must be an addition to the QT with the Lord.
Penny cannot replace CJ. She cannot hold me like he can. She cannot talk to me in an understandable way. She can never love me like CJ can, why? not because she doesn't want to, but because she was never created to. She was created to be a dog. And she does that so well.
CJ was created a man. Which means that when I love him, I am not loving a Divine, but the gift of the Divine. All humans were created for a divine love, and by His amazing grace, we are allowed the possibility of loving a human in order to taste the romance of God for us. We are instructed to use that love as an example of Christ and the Church. And so we do. I pray CJ and I will do it well. Nonetheless, he cannot replace God. And neither can I. In loving each other we love God, but we must each love God without each other even more.
Whom have I in heaven but you?
And earth has nothing I desire besides you.
The truth is, I do have something on earth that I now desire more than anything I've ever desired. More than adventure and travel and chasing dreams. I've been reading this book called Sacred Marriage by Gary Thomas, despite the fact that more than a year bridges me from marriage. Thomas says that when we love our spouse, we love God.
I've seen this recently with my beau's dog, Penny. I like dogs in general. But I especially love this dog, mostly because it is his dog. I've kidnapped her for a while while he's out of country. The smile on my face is so big when she jumps into the pond at the city park. She ruffles herself out after a minute or two of swimming and then just jumps right back in. She chases after me as I jog around the pond, leaving a trail of water both in the air and on the ground behind her. I love it. I love it all. I worry about her when I'm at work and she's stuck in a tiny apartment.
On the jog around the pond today, I saw just what Gary Thomas was talking about. By taking Penny to the park, I am loving CJ. By feeding her and petting her and worrying about her, I inadvertently am loving him.
And so it goes with God. By loving CJ, I am loving God. He is God's creation, one in whom God takes pleasure in. One in whom He desires to be more like him. And so when I write CJ a letter or make him a necklace, or patch up his forever-holed favorite jeans, I am loving God.
I think this thought needs some caution though. The reason: when I use this argument to justify that I am spending enough quiet time with God, I am wrong. Loving CJ must be an addition to the QT with the Lord.
Penny cannot replace CJ. She cannot hold me like he can. She cannot talk to me in an understandable way. She can never love me like CJ can, why? not because she doesn't want to, but because she was never created to. She was created to be a dog. And she does that so well.
CJ was created a man. Which means that when I love him, I am not loving a Divine, but the gift of the Divine. All humans were created for a divine love, and by His amazing grace, we are allowed the possibility of loving a human in order to taste the romance of God for us. We are instructed to use that love as an example of Christ and the Church. And so we do. I pray CJ and I will do it well. Nonetheless, he cannot replace God. And neither can I. In loving each other we love God, but we must each love God without each other even more.
posted by go2016 at 4:21 PM
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