SOS
Monday, September 22, 2008
My friend Beth sent me an email today with SOS in the subject line. Needless to say, it grabbed my attention. Beth (pictured above in blue) is a cherished friend from a circle of five that shares openly about her life, often calling on us "hens" to pray when her nest becomes too chaotic, ruffled, unfeathered. I opened her message immediately, thinking she or someone in the family needed urgent prayer!
It cracked me up when I figured out SOS referred instead to the bible: Song of Songs. And it blessed my day to learn that Beth's message was inspired by my recent blog entries related to a "sexy" poem (see entry titled Midlife Miracle--you may need to read it first for a point of reference) and the controversy it inspired within my own heart. She wrote:
Hey Cheri!
I was reading about Song of Solomon in my Bible study A Woman of Moderation by Dee Brestin... and I thought of you. Here are some things she quotes:
"The use of metaphors formed from the marriage relation and from the language of human affection, in application to the highest intercourse of the soul with the objects of faith, is common both in our Lord's discourses and in the writings of the apostles... (The Pulpit Commentary, Vol. IX, Hendrickson, p. 23)
Dee Brestin writes, "Max Lucado says, 'It may seen odd to think of God as an enthralled lover... as a suitor intoxicated on live,' yet that is how He paints himself, again and again, throughout Scripture (When Christ Comes, Word, 1999, p. 144)"
Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth - for your love is more delightful than wine. (Song 1:2)
Dee Brestin writes, "A kiss, especially a kiss on the mouth, has represented intimacy from the beginning of time. What every individual longs for, Solomon tells us in Proverbs 19:22, is unfailing love. A kiss on the mouth gives hope of that kind of love, a love that is sweeter than wine. The changing of the tenses may represent increasing boldness on the Shulammite maiden's part- beginning by talking about the bridegroom to her maidens in the third tense, but then turning and facing him, talking to him directly, and vulnerably telling him of her love.
It is possible to have this kind of intimacy with Jesus. It is He who first puts the fire to our souls to long for Him, and He is delighted when we turn toward Him and plead with Him for greater intimacy, for, indeed, a "kiss on the mouth" that will keep the flame alive. Jamie Lash, who has a Messianic Jewish Ministry, writes in her book A Kiss a Day,
"According to rabbinic tradition, [a kiss] is a living word of prophecy. The Christian equivalent would be a "rhema" word. Have you ever had the experience of reading or heaving something from the Bible which suddenly came alive to you, literally jumping off the page, and you knew that God was speaking to you? If you have, you've been kissed by God! (ebed, 1996, p. 17)
Dee Brestin continues: "God wants a bride who longs for intimacy. He doesn't want a dutiful bride who approaches His Word with the sense of "I have to read by Bible because I'm a Christian." Instead, He longs for a bride who is hungering for His kisses, who approaches His Word with yearning for the first that comes from a kiss on the mouth. Madame Guyon, a Christian contemplative who was imprisoned during the time of Louis XIV for her commentary on the Song of Songs, comments on "the kisses of his mouth": "it encompasses nothing less than the communication of the Word of God to the soul" (Song of the Bride, Whitaker, 2001, p. 13)."
So, I guess the kiss on the lips between the Father and Son in The Shack isn't so disturbing, after all! ;-)
Beth
How cool is it to have friends who will "process" with me, friends who are passionate about the Divine Lover of our Souls! Thanks Beth, Julie, Sally, Heather and Margie!
It cracked me up when I figured out SOS referred instead to the bible: Song of Songs. And it blessed my day to learn that Beth's message was inspired by my recent blog entries related to a "sexy" poem (see entry titled Midlife Miracle--you may need to read it first for a point of reference) and the controversy it inspired within my own heart. She wrote:
Hey Cheri!
I was reading about Song of Solomon in my Bible study A Woman of Moderation by Dee Brestin... and I thought of you. Here are some things she quotes:
"The use of metaphors formed from the marriage relation and from the language of human affection, in application to the highest intercourse of the soul with the objects of faith, is common both in our Lord's discourses and in the writings of the apostles... (The Pulpit Commentary, Vol. IX, Hendrickson, p. 23)
Dee Brestin writes, "Max Lucado says, 'It may seen odd to think of God as an enthralled lover... as a suitor intoxicated on live,' yet that is how He paints himself, again and again, throughout Scripture (When Christ Comes, Word, 1999, p. 144)"
Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth - for your love is more delightful than wine. (Song 1:2)
Dee Brestin writes, "A kiss, especially a kiss on the mouth, has represented intimacy from the beginning of time. What every individual longs for, Solomon tells us in Proverbs 19:22, is unfailing love. A kiss on the mouth gives hope of that kind of love, a love that is sweeter than wine. The changing of the tenses may represent increasing boldness on the Shulammite maiden's part- beginning by talking about the bridegroom to her maidens in the third tense, but then turning and facing him, talking to him directly, and vulnerably telling him of her love.
It is possible to have this kind of intimacy with Jesus. It is He who first puts the fire to our souls to long for Him, and He is delighted when we turn toward Him and plead with Him for greater intimacy, for, indeed, a "kiss on the mouth" that will keep the flame alive. Jamie Lash, who has a Messianic Jewish Ministry, writes in her book A Kiss a Day,
"According to rabbinic tradition, [a kiss] is a living word of prophecy. The Christian equivalent would be a "rhema" word. Have you ever had the experience of reading or heaving something from the Bible which suddenly came alive to you, literally jumping off the page, and you knew that God was speaking to you? If you have, you've been kissed by God! (ebed, 1996, p. 17)
Dee Brestin continues: "God wants a bride who longs for intimacy. He doesn't want a dutiful bride who approaches His Word with the sense of "I have to read by Bible because I'm a Christian." Instead, He longs for a bride who is hungering for His kisses, who approaches His Word with yearning for the first that comes from a kiss on the mouth. Madame Guyon, a Christian contemplative who was imprisoned during the time of Louis XIV for her commentary on the Song of Songs, comments on "the kisses of his mouth": "it encompasses nothing less than the communication of the Word of God to the soul" (Song of the Bride, Whitaker, 2001, p. 13)."
So, I guess the kiss on the lips between the Father and Son in The Shack isn't so disturbing, after all! ;-)
Beth
How cool is it to have friends who will "process" with me, friends who are passionate about the Divine Lover of our Souls! Thanks Beth, Julie, Sally, Heather and Margie!
