I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy. I promised you to one husband, to Christ, so that I might present you as a pure virgin to him. But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ. 2 Cor. 11:2-3 (NIV)
Dear Lord Jesus, nothing good has ever come out of our jealousy—our insecure possessiveness and demandingness. But only good arises from godly jealousy—from your grace-full determination “to have and to hold” us for yourself, and to enjoy us forever.
That you are jealous and zealous for our love is the greatest compliment you could ever pay us. Really? You desire the affection of our hearts, the pleasure of our company, the intimacy of our communion? We believe this, Jesus, because you have spoken it, but we want to believe it more. Heal and free us from the prison house of our unbelief.
That you really want us, desire us, and enjoy us is almost too much to take in. That you are actually saying to us today in the gospel, in this very moment, “Come away, my beloved, my desire is for you, my banner over you is love “… it almost seems impossible and, tragically, at times not enough to fill the void and ache of our hearts.
It’s easy to understand Paul’s concern about the heart drift of the Corinthian believers. For surely Satan is always seeking to lead us away from the simplicity and purity of devotion to you, Jesus—our great lover and Lord. He’ll let us be anything but passionately in love with you. When he distracts, deceives, and draws us away from the wonders of your love, everything else in our lives is affected as well—how we view people, our families, and ourselves; what we do with our pain, longings, and emptiness.
We begin to look to people, “stuff,” and circumstances—more than we look to you, for our satisfaction, joy, and peace. O, the foolishness of thinking that life can be found anywhere else but in you. Jesus, we long for the day of no more illusions or delusions, no more deceived thinking or divided hearts, no more idols of the heart of idle moments frittered away on empty nothings. Hasten that Day, Jesus; hasten that Day.
But in this day, give us enough gospel manna, gospel sanity, and gospel freedom to live and to love as yours—delightfully and belovedly yours. So very Amen we pray, in your wonderful and merciful name.
