Love that is Far Better than ANYTHING You Can Imagine!!

I had a very interesting and overwhelming evening yesterday. Culture shock. Confusion and spinning around in my head my Christian worldview-- a view I still, if not more adamantly believe to be right, founded on the Truth, btw! :-) But I was grieved by what I realized last night.

I came to the Word this morning, stretched out on the floor of my grandma's spare bedroom, and begged God to "open my eyes that I may behold wondrous things out of His Law"-- to open His Word unto me as He did to the men on the road to Emmaus-- to transform my thoughts and my way of thinking and retrain and renew my mind according to what I would read (Romans 12:2)-- to increase my knowledge of Him (that knowledge that enables us to walk in and by His grace and dwell in His comprehension-surpassing peace!!!) (Colossians 3:10).

And I opened up to where I left off yesterday in Song of Solomon and read the next portion of that one verse and felt stuck.

*sigh*

"For (T)hy love is better than wine." (Song of Solomon 1:2b)

Why couldn't I get past that? lol (Answer: the Lord wouldn't let me! lol) What is the significance of that? Of course Jesus is better than all else, but I don't drink wine! Lol How did this apply to me? How does it apply to me, to you?!

So I looked the passage on my Bible/concordance program on my computer which happens to contain Surgeon's Morning/Evening Devotional on it. I came upon an evening devotional for the very verse- indeed, the very portion of the verse!!-- that had me "stuck", as it were.

So I read it.

Aloud and in first person. Made it mine, you know?

Blew me away.

Jesus, and an intimate, loving relationship with Him, is far better  than ANYTHING in this world or of it!

I read it-- this devotional thought-- to my childhood friend who was over at my grandma's this afternoon (which is where I am staying :D) and it really seemed to inspire her as well.

I realize that it's a lot to read, but I'm going to 'copy & paste' it below and I encourage you, dear sister, to read it!! Read it ALL! Personalize it for yourself- even read it aloud! It is wonderful!

"Thy love is better than wine."
--Song of Solomon 1:2

Nothing gives the believer so much joy as fellowship with Christ. He has enjoyment as others have in the common mercies of life, he can be glad both in God's gifts and God's works; but in all these separately, yea, and in all of them added together, he doth not find such substantial delight as in the matchless person of his Lord Jesus. He has wine which no vineyard on earth ever yielded; he has bread which all the corn-fields of Egypt could never bring forth. Where can such sweetness be found as we have tasted in communion with our Beloved? In our esteem, the joys of earth are little better than husks for swine compared with Jesus, the heavenly manna. We would rather have one mouthful of Christ's love, and a sip of his fellowship, than a whole world full of carnal delights. What is the chaff to the wheat? What is the sparkling paste to the true diamond? What is a dream to the glorious reality? What is time's mirth, in its best trim, compared to our Lord Jesus in His most despised estate? If you know anything of the inner life, you will confess that our highest, purest, and most enduring joys must be the fruit of the tree of life which is in the midst of the Paradise of God. No spring yields such sweet water as that well of God which was digged with the soldier's spear. All earthly bliss is of the earth earthy, but the comforts of Christ's presence are like Himself, heavenly. We can review our communion with Jesus, and find no regrets of emptiness therein; there are no dregs in this wine, no dead flies in this ointment. The joy of the Lord is solid and enduring. Vanity hath not looked upon it, but discretion and prudence testify that it abideth the test of years, and is in time and in eternity worthy to be called "the only true delight." For nourishment, consolation, exhilaration, and refreshment, no wine can rival the love of Jesus. Let us drink to the full this evening.
{taken from Surgeon's Morning/Evening Devotional}

You see, Sunday night, I watched the 1949 Little Women with my grandma-- and suddenly felt hopelessly alone and single. :( :( :( :( I wanted a Professor Bhear to be there for me and love me and say sweet things to me. I wanted to feel that tug on my heart. I thought about it early the next morning as well; I realized though, that I needed to fall in love with Jesus. So i set about yesterday morning wanting to draw close to Him-- wanting to know how to view Him as my "Husband", the Lover of my Soul, my Heavenly Bridegroom.

He showed me yesterday that if I want to draw close to Him in this way and have an intimate relationship with Him that I must make time for it. It's not just going to "come about". Like all good, normal, and/or romantic relationships, it must be cultivated!!!

Okay.

So I understood that.

But there was that lazy, rebellious little voice/ niggling feeling that whispered, "But do I really want to put forth that effort? Is it really worth it?"

Well, the Lord showed me today that YES!!!!!!!!!!!! When I have such a LOVING, WONDERFUL GOD-----

HOW COULD/CAN I NOT!????!!?
He is SO worth it!!!!!
Pursue Him tonight! His love is FAR BETTER than ANYTHING else! Even an earthly romance!