“In that day,” declares the LORD,
“you will call me ‘my husband’;
you will no longer call me ‘my master.’
19 I will betroth you to me forever;
I will betroth you in righteousness and justice,
in love and compassion.
20 I will betroth you in faithfulness,
and you will acknowledge the LORD.
“you will call me ‘my husband’;
you will no longer call me ‘my master.’
19 I will betroth you to me forever;
I will betroth you in righteousness and justice,
in love and compassion.
20 I will betroth you in faithfulness,
and you will acknowledge the LORD.
21 “In that day I will respond,”
declares the LORD—
“I will respond to the skies,
and they will respond to the earth;
22 and the earth will respond to the grain,
the new wine and the olive oil,
and they will respond to Jezreel.
23 I will plant her for myself in the land;
I will show my love to the one I called ‘Not my loved one.’
I will say to those called ‘Not my people,’ ‘You are my people’;
and they will say, ‘You are my God.’”
declares the LORD—
“I will respond to the skies,
and they will respond to the earth;
22 and the earth will respond to the grain,
the new wine and the olive oil,
and they will respond to Jezreel.
23 I will plant her for myself in the land;
I will show my love to the one I called ‘Not my loved one.’
I will say to those called ‘Not my people,’ ‘You are my people’;
and they will say, ‘You are my God.’”
Hosea Chapter 2
I was watching Dont Tell The Bride before I started writing this. Its the programme where the groom is given a sum of money and two weeks in which to completely organise his wedding and his bride knows nothing at all about it until the day she walks down the aisle. She doesnt get to see the dress or the venue or choose the colour scheme or the flowers. Nothing. And of course the fun of the programme is in wondering if the groom is going to get it right or make some horrendous faux pas. But he pretty much always gets it right in the end. Even when he arranges for his bride to go skydiving immediately before the ceremony ( yes really) or chooses a battleship as a venue rather than a country house hotel. !
Watching a beautiful bride walking excitedly down the aisle towards her exhausted but proud groom on the telly this evening reminded me again of what the Christmas story is really all about. It is about God sending the groom into the world to begin preparations for a wedding. A wedding about which we, the bride, know precious few details. All we know is that we shall be without blemish or wrinkle, there will be a wedding feast and a place prepared for us. But mostly its a mystery. Just like the bride on the TV show, we just have to trust that our groom knows us, loves us and is preparing something so exquisitely beautiful for us that it will take our breath away.
I read something on Facebook this week which I really loved. In a blog on the page of a friend of a friend of a friend someone quoting The Shack wrote......
'You cannot produce trust, just as you cannot “do” humility. It either is or is not. Trust is the fruit of a relationship in which you know you are loved. Because you do not know that I love you, you cannot trust me.' ~ The Shack, page 128.
I have a very hard time trusting people, and I have seen this as a shortcoming that I need to work on. However, I think there is a lot of wisdom in the thought that trust is a natural byproduct of feeling loved. I have a new best friend. We have known each other for a few years but just started getting closer about a year ago. She is very guarded, but once she lets you into her heart, she does it wholeheartedly.
I am finding myself trusting her more and more, and it has been a natural byproduct of knowing that she loves me. I have not had to “work on” trusting her. I also did not have to “work on” caring about her. The intermixing of love and trust happened naturally as we become more emotionally intimate in talking about the things that matter.
On the flip side, I have other relationships in which I do not trust much, and I am growing to see it is because I do not know that I am loved. In some cases, I am probably not. In other cases, I do not feel the love. It might be because of how the other person expresses the love, or it might be because I resist the expression. Regardless, I do not feel loved, so I do not trust. http://faithallen.wordpress.com/2009/03/09/words-of-wisdom-from-%E2%80%9Cthe-shack%E2%80%9D-connection-between-love-trust/
Lord Jesus,
I know that You love me and therefore I can trust You. Thank You for all the ways You show me Your care and concern, Your help and guidance, Your protection and answers to prayer. Thank You that you are preparing me for a wedding, a mystical union, a wonderful celebration, a joyful day. This wedding has cost You everything. May I return the love and devotion You have shown me with all my heart.
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