Last night, hopefully, you reset your clocks. This time of your we spring forward - we move the clock ahead, and we lose an hour. We, of course, also gain some daylight at the end of the day... Which is something I am looking forward to! - This week I started thinking about Spring - about springing forward, and about spring cleaning, about spring days, and when I think of spring I think of love... Love is in the air on a beautiful spring day. I think of picnics...and playfulness, and a date with my wife...
Love for me has matured a little though over the last few years. As our family has grown, my love now includes some kids... As a matter of fact, my daughter and I spent the day together on a date of sorts. It was a prefect spring type date. We went to the opening of the Long Center for the Performing arts. We listened to some good music, we got her face painted, we watched the Ballet... After it was over, and we were on the way home, I thanked Ashley for spending the day with me, and going to the Ballet with me. She waited a moment of two and then she said, “daddy, would you have went to the Ballet without me?” And I answered, “Not on your life...” She said, “Then why did you ask me to go with you today?” “Because I wanted to spend time with you...” Love takes all forms, right.
The love of a father for a child. The love of a husband for a wife. This morning I want to look at a passage of scripture that we don’t really ever look at... It’s found in Song of Songs 2:10-13 (Read it...)
Song of Songs, or Song of Solomon, is an odd little book in the Bible. It’s hard for us to understand. It’s poetry, and even the scholars have a tough time agreeing what its all about. I have heard some say its a collection of wedding letters, others say its an allegory ...and truthfully, I’m not sure. I think sometimes scripture is so profound that we will never be able to label it or plumb its depths!
But this week, when I started thinking about Spring, I ran across this passage... It’s about two lovers. One wooing the other. One saying, spring is here, come away with me. It’s beautiful outside, come away. Come out and play, come spend time, come away with me my fair one...
And you might be uncomfortable with this language - but I think in this passage we see God as lover. God as lover? How does that strike you? How does that make you feel? Do you think, can you think of God as your lover? We know that God is love. We’re okay with that. We know that God showed his great love for us - in Christ. We know that God so loved the world that he gave his son... But have you thought lately about the fact that God is lover? Specifically, think about this... I think God wants you. I think he wants, he desires, he longs for you... I think this passage is about a God who longs for time - for relationship - for love from and with his children...
Winter is Past. Did you know that often the first step in the direction of understanding God as your lover is to step over the past... So many of us carry our sin around with us like a weight around our neck. We carry past hurt. We carry past pain Our lover says, “Come spend time with me, come be with me...” And we say, “I am unlovely. Look at me. You don’t want this...”
But listen to verse 11 - “The winter is past, and the rains are over and gone...” “if anyone is in Christ, the old is gone, the new has come...” 2 Corinthians 5:17
You ever had one of those days when everything is busy...everything is blue - nothing seems to be going right, and someone - maybe a friend - someone calls and says, “Let’s go do something - let’s go out - let’s go golfing - lets go wherever...” I think sometimes we get stuck. Sometimes we get stuck in our past, sometimes we get stuck in our sin - But listen... I think God is saying, “Come do something with me, come enjoy this with me...”
Come enjoy the “newness” again.
I had a day like that a couple of weeks ago. I had meetings, and I hadn’t been feeling well - and I got this call from Ed Mayes. “Charles, I have a Tee Time later... Can you make it?” Yes - I could. And wow... It was such a great day. We had such a great time....
What will it take for you to experience newness again with God?
Find a new translation of the Bible
Start a new Christian book - something that talks about your walk with Christ
When was the last time you took your Bible to a park...or to a new place? I am always on the lookout for a new coffee shop, or a new place to go and just get alone with God!
Maybe you need to find a new discipleship partner? (I’m doing that this week - I’ve been talking with a friend about getting together for Breakfast once a week, so that we could look at God’s word together, hold each other accountable, and pray for the people in our lives that we are trying to share our faith with...)
Go somewhere - do something
Come away with me... That’s what this passage says...
In 2001 a new musical talent, by the name of Norah Jones, popped onto the music scene... Her debut album was called, “Come Away with me.” and featured this number one hit... I want you to listen to it briefly...
It’s a love song... It’s a modern love song... But The passage we’ve been using this morning says the same thing - I hope you get this - God wants you... He longs for you to come away with him...
We don’t often think of God as person - but you know as I thought about it this week, some of my best times with God have been times when he was so real, I felt like I could reach out and touch him...
