Forever in Love with Jesus by Kathy Troccoli

Author:Kathy Troccoli
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: ebook, book
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Published: 2012-04-10T00:00:00+00:00

Awake O South Wind,

Awake O North Wind,

Spread the fragrance of my love for Him.

He leads me to His garden

with a glance of His eyes

to eat of all the good fruit while walking by His side.

Arise, my Love;

My fair one come away

Is what You said to me

on our lovely wedding day?

Now I’ll cling to all Your promises

Your love has set me free

I am my Beloved’s

His desire is for me.

Your tenderness . . . Mr. Tenderness

In the morning I arise

to see the loving in Your eyes

so tender to me.

And at the setting of the sun

I’m still embraced by my Loved One

So tenderly . . .2

We understand that not everyone is going to be comfortable with the portrait of Jesus as Bridegroom, just as not everyone is comfortable with the portrait of God as Father. We tend to process spiritual things by our human experiences. If we have had negative earthly role models or painful experiences, seeing the Lord as Husband or as Father will be difficult for us. But God is so good. In the process of our growing in relationship with Him, healing starts to happen, and we relate to God in ways He has so desired. In fact, one day, the portrait we pushed away may become the most meaningful one of all. In the meantime, let us give one another grace, as we all are at different points in our journey to the high places.

Is the portrait of Jesus as our Bridegroom only for Israel?

In Hosea, God was specifically addressing Israel. But in Hosea we also see the wonderful promise, the mystery, fulfilled in the New Testament, that God was going to make a people who were not His people, His people. Not only would believing Israel be His bride, but the way would be open to Gentiles who believe as well. The pleadings in Hosea are not just for Israel, but for each of us who believes.

Does the portrait of Jesus as our Bridegroom apply only to the corporate bride, and not to us as individuals?

There are three pictures in Ephesians to describe the body of believers: a building, a body, and a bride. In each, there is an individual and a corporate application. Consider, for example, the building, or temple. Each one of us is, indeed, the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19). Yet this picture also represents all of God’s people (Ephesians 2:19–22). With the picture of the body, the hand should not say, “Jesus is talking to the whole body, so this isn’t relevant to me, the hand.” Yet the hand should also understand the value of the eye, and of cooperating with the eye, and of not seeing itself as superior to the eye.

In the same way, the portrait of the bride is clearly both individual (as in the Song of Solomon) and corporate (as in Hosea). However, even when a Scripture writer is addressing the church corporately, there is always an individual application. It would be a great evasion to say, “God isn’t asking me, personally, to be faithful—this message is for the church.

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