Lover of My Soul

Do you think of Jesus as your groom, your fiance, the lover of your soul?

Have you ever thought about, or approached Christ in prayer, in such romantic and passionate terms? Or does that idea make you squrim and wonder if that could really be what the Bible means when it speaks of Jesus as our promised husband?

The book of Hosea is a short book in the Old Testament. Its the story of a prophet who was told by God to marry a prostitute. She is hard to handle and frequently goes off with other lovers, but God calls Hosea to continue loving and pursuing her. It serves as a metaphor, a picture of sorts, of Christ's unrelenting love for us, no matter what. And it is a passionate, even jealous, love. Check out some of these verses from the book:

"Therefore I am now going to allure her; I will lead her into the desert and speak tenderly to her there." ~ Hosea 2:6-7

"Therefore I will block her path with thornbushes; I will wall her in so that she cannot find her way. She will chase after her lovers but not catch them; she will look for them but not find them." ~ Hosea 2:6-7

"In that day," declares the Lord, "you will call me 'my husband'; you will no longer call me 'my master' ..." "I will betroth you to me forever; I will betroth you in righteousness and justice, in love and compassion." ~ Hosea 2:16, 19

I've been amazed at the response from Him when I've approach the Lord in prayer with this view of our relationship in mind. He is tender and loving, and will touch my soul at depths I scarely knew I had. Has anyone else experienced this?

I didn't for a long time because I never dared to think in these terms. I didn't know how to integrate the fact that I'm a married, mortal woman with the fact that Jesus is my eternal lover, and soon-to-be husband. Its astonshing when you think of all that implies.

I love this quote from the book Captivating, "You are the one who takes his breath away by your beautiful heart that, against all odds, hopes in him."

I encourage you to try this, try praying and asking Jesus if you take his breath away. Declare your love for Him and ask Him to show you this side of Himself. Ask Him to embrace you and reveal Himself to you as your passionate bridegroom. And praise Him, for when He reveals Himself to us on these terms, its probably one of the most amazing things we'll ever experience.

If you missed my devotion on this topic today, check it out here at the P31 devotion blog.

I'd love to hear your thoughts or experiences with this - and I hope this post inspires you to seek Christ's heart in a fresh way.