In the first part of this verse we cried out to our Beloved to “Draw us after Him” to a place where our spirit is united with Him. It’s in this place of union with His Spirit that our will becomes infused in purpose and desire with His heart. We long to know the things that please Him and run with Him to see His desires fulfilled. We could not run after Him if He did not draw us. Notice the word used here was to “run” which implies an eagerness to pursue; as He awakens us to His passionate desire for us, our spirit is not content to walk, but with much longing we run hard after Him. There are two ways that we run together with the Lord, the first is to run together in intimacy where we fulfill the first commandment of Matthew 22:37 to “Love the LORD with our your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.”
The second way we run together with our Beloved is in loving our neighbor as ourselves, thus fulfilling the second commandment of Matthew 22:39. It is from the place of a heart inflamed with the love of God that our hearts overflow with His love to those around us. All of our ministry should be an overflow of this union of our hearts and wills. For centuries men and women who have been captured by His love have loved not their own lives unto death because they refused to deny the Lover of their soul. With hearts impassioned by His fiery love they suffered imprisonment and death.
One such story is of Nijole Sadunaite who was sentenced to prison in Soviet Lithuania in the 1970s. As she stood before the court she told them “This is the happiest day of my life. I was judged today for the cause of truth and love toward men. What cause could be more important? I have an enviable fate, a glorious destiny. My condemnation will be my triumph. I regret only having done so little for men” She was sentenced to prison for three years. After being freed, she met the Pope in Rome, and he asked her, “How was it in jail?” She replied, “Romantic.” (Taken from Jesus Freaks)
I love this story because when a heart is consumed in the passion of loves fire there is no cost too great for the One it loves. Only those who know the passion of His love would find it romantic to be martyred or imprisoned for their Beloved. This Divine Romance empowers us to be faithful through persecution and through the mundane of day-to-day life. Once our heart is captivated by His love and beauty our life vision seems to change from an ambitious self-centered focus to a life vision of wanting to please the One we love, to pour out our lives in pursuing Him and the desires of His heart. It doesn’t really matter where we are in life, what we have or have not accomplished to fulfill a life vision of pursuing and pleasing our Beloved. His is our One desire!
Devotional Prayer
Holy Spirit, thank you for drawing me to You and for captivating my heart with Your passionate love. You are the One who initiates the pursuit and desire that I am with You where You are. You want us to run together in a deeper, intimate relationship. I want to know the passions and desires of Your heart. I want to know You! Holy Spirit let the fire of Your love and passion permeate every part of my being so that in union with You we can also pour out Your love to others. I want to run with You to bring others to their eternal destiny of intimacy with our Bridegroom God.
No comments:
Post a Comment