by RobertCummins | Aug 5, 2014 | 32. Intimacy
I am my beloved’s and his desire is for me. Song of Songs 7:10-13
If you have read The Song of Solomon you know that it is clearly about the intimacy between a king and a common girl who has become his obsession and the sole object of his affection. He chooses her and showers her with his attention, with thoughtful gifts and tender words. While these initiatives would be worth emulating in the marriage relationship, I believe the inclusion of this book into the scriptures was not just as a manuel for marital intimacy. I believe it is there because the Spirit, who loves to reveal God’s nature, was saying something about God’s love for us.
There are many different types of love. Each type of legitimate love came from God, who is Love. There is familial love, fraternal love, and there is the love expressed sexually between a man and his mate. The Spirit elects sexual love to depict something about God’s love in this book but I don’t believe it is the sensual dimension of sexual love; rather it is the dimensions of passion and intensity of this king’s love that is the point. I believe that even though it is imperfect, the intimacy of marital love is simply the closest thing (though still relatively weak), in our available human points of reference for God to refer us to as a starting point in understanding the passionate and intense nature of God’s love for us.
He doesn’t just tolerate us and endure our depraved fallen natures. In Christ, He has buried that aspect of us and raised us up with new natures (His own) that are no longer in bondage to sin, condemned and rejected by God. He no longer sees in us the defilement of sin. He sees Christ and His righteousness. We may sin still but that sin is not proof that we are still ruled by a depraved lower nature and rejected by God. It is simply proof that we still have the power to choose which is essential to us so that we can respond to the love of God.
Within Christianity, so many believe the best and most important response to God’s sacrificial love is the living out of a holy and obedient life (as we have envisioned them). I will not argue that holiness and obedience (as God envisions them) are not an essential part of the normal Christian life. I will argue though that in and of itself, just the setting of the will to achieve a standard (regardless of its height) is counterproductive and will not produce intimacy. It will produce something that may have the appearance of righteousness but it will be performance oriented and fail to result in the intimacy that can only be received as a precious gift which I believe is integral to God’s type of righteousness.
How do we partake of this gift? How do we shake this sense of being a tolerated step-child who never quite measures up? What is due from us in this relationship so that we can partake of and enjoy this intimacy? We simply live by faith. We daily practice our response to the unseen reality of God’s infinite love and compassion for us. We train our selves to live gratefully regarding His acceptance of us and his celebration over us. We keep at it day in and day out always deferring to ourselves in our thoughts as “His beloved“. Life will become abundant for us when we grasp that the deepest and truest thing about us is not that we are fallen; rather that we are His. Gratitude is natural for the common one who has been chosen and enjoined to Royalty. We simply live presumptuously in regard to His favorable disposition toward us. This is the root of all true abundance and the cause of authentic obedience.
Father, may You bring into full view of all creation, the redemption of the sons of God – those whose identities, as Your children, have been and are being restored in the context of their intimate union with You. May You awaken us to Your invitations to come away with You and personally hear Your kind words, receive Your special gifts and enjoy Your undivided attention. Amen.
by RobertCummins | Aug 4, 2014 | 32. Intimacy
Isaiah 62
In this passage, the God of recompense and reward is revealing things about His nature and His ways through the foretelling of His servant Isaiah. His reward will one day amount to a reversal of fortunes for Zion, the nation and even her real estate. The language is very strong. The Lord is swearing; He is vowing, by His might and power, to cause this to come to pass. Where Israel viewed her identity as forsaken and desolate, God wills that she will one day think of herself quite differently.
What will this look like? These are the words Isaiah chose; gloriously beautiful, royal, holy, desirable, an object of praise worthy of God’s own rejoicing. How will this impossible thing come about? Isaiah chose the imagery of marriage to convey the answer. God’s might and strength will be displayed in the context of “intimacy” which shall be the recompense and reward to His chosen people. The sons of Zion will be wed to their land and the people rejoined to their God. Consequently, she will be a marvel and a crown of glory unto God Himself.
What could possibly be our application from this account of Israel’s ancient history and this prophecy of her future? There is another behind-the-scene variable in the “how” and the “why” of Israel’s transformation. There are a group of people referred to as “watchmen” who would not be quiet nor would their souls find peace until glorious Zion is seen in this earth. God has yoked Himself with these people whom He has appointed to remind Him. Since we know God’s memory is fine and that He needs no reminding, it seems reasonable that his motive is, at least in part, to include men in this process of restoring His people’s identity and destiny.
As a road contractor, I appreciate Isaiah’s,
Build up the highways, remove the stones, lift up a standard over the people.
I believe a watchman may be the equivalent to an “inspector” on a highway project. The inspector is the owner’s representative. The standards have created a vision in the mind of the watchful inspector and he knows what that project is supposed to look like when it is finished. He understands the processes required to accomplish it and he does not give himself (nor anyone else) rest until it is finished according the “standards”. I believe between now and the time when the Church and Zion are fully glorified we will see more watchmen appear.
Isaiah was a watchman for Zion. Who are the watchman, the standard bearers today for the kingdom of God? I believe they exist. They are the ones in whose listening hearts God has whispered what He intends His kingdom to look like. Watchmen may appear troubled because what has been built to date does not resemble the standard God revealed to them in His word and by His Spirit.
You may be able to recognize them because they are coloring outside the established lines. With a glorious king and His kingdom in mind, they are rethinking and experimenting with new structures and concepts that, to them, more closely resemble the ones they observe in scripture. The hard questions they ask and the radical proposals they consider are warranted (at least in their view) because the ones they have walked in or observed are not moving toward what they would think of as kingdom standards.
Not all legitimate watchmen are standing on the wailing wall in Jerusalem crying for the restoration of Zion and Jerusalem. Some are weeping and making petition for the restoration of the Church (Christ’s living community and family) and are not giving God (or others) much rest until this community resembles the glorified Bride of Christ referred to in Scripture, who may in turn ultimately serve in the fulfillment of Isaiah’s ancient prophecy.
Paul, was an apostle but he was certainly a watchman too. If this has stirred you at all you should read Romans 11. This is Paul’s heart, that…
I might move to jealousy my fellow countrymen (Israel) and save some of them.
In the grand eschatological scheme of things I anticipate that God will utilize a glorified church to awaken Israel (by way of jealousy) to God’s loving heart toward them and their appointment with intimacy.
Father raise up those watchmen who are holding up your standard, clinging to the vision You have of Your Bride and Your kingdom. Raise up those who hunger and thirst for kingdom realities. May the children of Zion awaken to Your call as they see the beauty, the power and the glory progressively revealed in Your Body. May we discover new levels of intimacy with You and may we see many being drawn into the kingdom. Amen.
by RobertCummins | Aug 11, 2013 | 32. Intimacy
John 17:20-26
If prayer is authentic surely it must express that thing within us that is the most prominent, the most important of our heart’s desires. When I read this passage which is Jesus’ final prayer before Judas betrays Him, I thought I was likely reading the fullest expression of God’s core heart desire. It caused me to pause and pray myself that my heart would be responsive as I peered in upon something so beautiful and holy as the refined passion and intent of God’s own heart.
Jesus begins by making it clear that He is praying for you and I. With yearning He asks God to reveal to us the glorious nature of love that was shared among the Godhead before creation. With a sense of urgency He goes further; He prays that all those of us who have been given to Him would not only witness this love but experience it and the unity that attends it –
that they (which is us) would all be one“.
He elaborates on unity with these words;
Thou, Father, art in Me, and I in Thee“; I in them and Thou in Me.
When we think of unity, we might think of doctrinal harmony or we may be drawn to the idea of various church “joint-ventures” where resources are combined to meet a need in the community. I thank God for these small beginnings. But without taking anything away from them, I do think when Jesus’ prayer is answered it will look like these gatherings plus much much more.
The reason for my confidence has to do with the “in” word. I want to honor the work of Christ that has transpired so far in the earth but I must confess I see a day coming when the implications to us of being in-Christ and Him in-dwelling us, works itself out in a way that will be so spectacular it will eclipse by far anything we have seen to date. I am envisioning the day that this final prayer of Jesus, “that the world may know and believe” is answered. It is OK to me that I have not yet seen anything so dramatic. That Jesus Himself has made the request assures me this day will come. The only question is “when” ?
If I am dreaming in the right direction; in the direction of Jesus own prayers, I can envision the Bride of Christ awakening to the valid notion that her destiny is not just decay or indifference, which in her slumber, she had learned to call normal. Perhaps she will hear those kind words that are spoken to her in her wilderness. Perhaps she will respond to His invitation to come away to that place where she can be alone with Him. Perhaps those words will awaken something that God has destined (or pre-destined if you prefer) to ignite a rightful and normative engagement with His great heart.
I believe Christ in us, is the basis for that kind of glorious hope. A representative of the Godhead indwells us by His Holy Spirit. My heart tells me we have not yet seen the fullest implication of this fact. OK…so what good is this grandiose thinking? What do I have to do with some future-possible dispensation that may be slated eschatologically downstream somewhere? Maybe nothing – yet maybe everything. Awakenings and revivals begin in human hearts. What if individual members in Christ’s body were to invite Jesus to launch the next great revival in their own hearts and begin taking responsibility for their hearts by getting alone with HIm and praying in harmony with Jesus’ stated intentions?
Father, thank You that You prayed this for us – that we would realize the “oneness” we have as You indwell us. Help us to grasp the indestructible nature of this union. Grant that our heart’s desires would be shaped by Your heart and that our chief ambition would to be simply recognize that You are with us wherever we are, and that we might behold Your glory. Grant that our vision and our destiny be constructed from what You have prayed as opposed to what we thought. Lord, perfect us in unity that the world may know that You sent Jesus to restore all things to Your wondrous original intent. Amen.
by RobertCummins | Aug 10, 2013 | 32. Intimacy
Hosea 2:14-23
That God is powerful goes without question for most Christians. We can look up at the stars and realize that the light we see now was emitted long long ago and has only now reached our vision. A testimony from nature such as this helps our perspective regarding the dimensions of God’s power. We conclude; a God such as this surely deserves to be honored and we respond, “God we worship You in Your power and might.” No doubt God appreciates that we reverence Him so. However, as stunning as God’s strength is, Hosea reveals something that is perhaps even more astonishing about God – His heart.
To reveal it, God requires the ancient prophet Hosea to wed Gomer, a prostitute to graphically depict how God’s mysterious heart works. She is habitually unfaithful and deluded, believing her material needs are being provided by her many lovers. No doubt Hosea wept as he watched his wife degrade and soil herself, sharing her body with those who cared nothing about her. What Hosea rightfully deserved and wanted was her fidelity and her love but he could not have it. All he could do was dream of a future day when he would get her back. While she deserved to be stoned, he is dreaming of her redemption.
As God dreams and projects His will forward, He anticipates a day when His beloved will be brought into a wilderness place and He will woo her with kind words; give her gifts and restore the vitality of her youth. Most importantly her heart will somehow be changed and she will speak the names of her lovers no more. It seems the event of her restoration will be so glorious that God will initiate a new covenant that occasions blessing to spill over into all surrounding nature and society.
We see married couples commonly rehearsing their vows after years of marriage. It seems something similar is going to occur between God and Israel. In this long awaited ceremony God will betroth His Bride to Himself in righteousness, justice, compassion, lovingkindness and perhaps most importantly to the spurned Lover – faithfulness. Finally! Faithfulness.
Verse 20 says, that then Israel will know the Lord.
As God enjoys renewed intimacy with His Beloved it seems all of creation will join in the celebratiion and enjoy the gift of its own restoration. It says God will respond differently to the heavens, and in turn the heavens will respond differently to the earth, and the earth itself will then respond with unprecedented fertility. My mind is drawn to the New Testament where Paul (in three places) expresses it this way;
with a view to an administration suitable to the fulness of times, that is the summing up of all things in Christ, things in the heavens and things upon the earth. (Eph 1:10)
and through Him (Jesus) to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross…whether things on earth or things in heaven. (Col 1:20)
that all creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the the freedom of the glory of the children of God. (Rom 8:21)
Father, we know this was Israel’s story but we also know we have been grafted into it and that we are the beneficiaries of Your great heart. We see the cosmic implications for man and creation but I will satisfy myself with knowing that in my most grotesque and shameful thoughts and deeds you were loving me and wooing me. In my wildernesses, many of which I have created, You have spoken kindly to me and rescued me. May the faithfulness and consummation You desire with Israel begin in my heart. Permit me to journey further into that place in Your heart where Your power and Your love merge – transforming all they touch. Amen.
by RobertCummins | Aug 9, 2013 | 32. Intimacy
Song of Solomon 4:8-16
At first encounter most wonder what is so special about the Blue Book. This passage of scripture helps reveal the secret. Please read on.
Song of Solomon is about two persons; one royal, the other of common Shulamite ancestry. These two are obsessed with each other. There is room for nothing else in their hearts and minds than each other. Theirs is an all consuming love affair. In this passage it is the man confessing his passion and desire. Yet, he will not force her. He invites her,
Come away with me.
Being alone with his beloved is where his desire will be satisfied. It is her choice to reciprocate. This book may be instructive to courting and married partners but I mentioned Tuesday that I believed the Spirit was using the imagery of physical attraction and union as the closest metaphor available to convey the incomprehensible strength and focus of God’s love.
I am struck again that it was this kind of passionate vulnerable Heart that was leaning, as God incarnate, with expectation and anticipation of union with his beloved, which was greeted when He was making His invitation, with unbelief, scorn, ridicule and ultimately crucifixion; essentially saying to this broken hearted Lover, “Leave us alone permanently.” His response?,
Father forgive them for they don’t understand what they are doing.
Truly, what manner of love is this?!! I wonder what the scribes and Pharisees were teaching about this book when Jesus walked the earth? I wonder; how did they instruct the people to consummate their relationship with God and fulfill their primary command to love the Lord their God with all their heart and soul and mind and strength? From what we know, they taught that fidelity through obedience plus the priest’s sacrifices, were what God wanted. They taught that God demanded compliance to the rules He had previously given plus a few hundred more (which they had thrown in as a hedge). I wonder if Jesus ever heard a single one of them say, “I love you Lord.”
It was not that long ago that this sentence would have gotten stuck in my throat. I really could not say it with clear conscience. After all, religion had drilled it into me that my desperately sick heart was always, as the song goes, “inclined to stray”. I knew my secret sins; my selfish dual motives. All I could do was say, “God, I pray that someday I will love You in a way that is really worthy of You. We both know what a mess of a person I am”. Then, depending on whatever my current level of spiritual exhaustion was, I would recommit to being obedient and live in brokenness and contrition. But, I would rarely sense, unless I had been very productive or chaste, enough freedom of conscience to say, “Lord, I love you”.
I have often thought that if Jeff Foxworthy had a Christian act, he might say, “You might be a Pharisee – if you struggle in saying, “I really love You Father”. Or, “You might be a Pharisee if – you are deeply concerned about other’s performance (but not so much your own).” From personal experience I can say that these two conditions usually exist in tandem as they did with the original legalists who, like I, made a mockery of God’s amazing grace and His loving invitation “to come” by living in the illusion that my performance was the prerequisite for His approval.
Note; For this pharisee, I can report that I was not conscious of my religious bent. (This is called deception.) I was doing all this bad math at a deeper level somewhere than conscious thought. I did not arise in the morning and plot how I could earn His approval. It was instinctive and foundational. Just like our other fallen appetites, religion is systemic to our flesh but it is far more deadly than lust or greed because religion will make a case (and a pretty good show) out of its false (self) righteousness. The heart that is tapped into religion produces only the toxic-fruit of works, never the eternal fruit of rest.
Today, I am so grateful that the sentence, “I love You” rolls off my lips easily without consideration of my performance past or recent. There is not enough space here to describe how I got into a religious performance-based relationship to God or how I was freed from it, but it is enough to say that it has been like taking deep gulps of refreshingly clean and life giving air after having been long submerged below water. Note: If this awakens something in you, the story of how the Lord un-entangled (and is untangling) this heart from religion is an ongoing theme at midlewithmystery.com
Father, breakdown every religious stronghold lurking in our hearts. We know that You desire a sensitive and compassionate heart and not just one that foolishly thinks our sacrifices of obedience are all You are after. Where we may have been wounded and grown hardened or become indifferent for whatever reason to Your invitation to “come away” with You, would You heal us and enable us to hear once again Your patient heart that will not rest until You hear from each of us, and all of us, “Oh God, how I love you!” Amen.
The Blue Book’s Secret: First of all; it’s not about the Blue Book. The book is unpretentious. It is not copyrighted. No one profits from it. It was given as a gift to the body of Christ by JLB. It is simple. It introduces us to a community of God intoxicated Shulamites who cannot live without their beloved. Their condensed wisdom is shared in digestible-sized nuggets that each, in their own way, echo the Lover’s invitation to “Come away.” It’s gift is the catalytic impact it has on hearts that respond to God’s invitation. No, its not about the Blue Book and It is for sure not about religion. It all about Him. It always has been and it always will be.
by RobertCummins | Aug 8, 2013 | 32. Intimacy
Revelation 12:1-7 (written in 2012)
And there shall no longer be any death.
A timely statement as I am attending a fellow contractor’s funeral this morning. I wonder if the minister will mention that one day, in the blink of an eye, death as well as mourning, crying and pain will all be old news. This passage is about new things – a new heaven, a new earth. He even saw….
the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband.
I have always wondered if I was being irreverent since my longings have never been focused on a massive cube of real estate descending from heaven. (I was interested though in a bride made ready.) Then I read on;
And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He shall dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself shall be among them,
As enamored as a paving contractor might be with streets that are paved with gold (as opposed to asphalt); ones that will never know a pothole, I was far more attracted to the fact that God, at this time, has claimed His own and dwells among them because He is dwelling in them. I pray that our hearts are not just saying something foolish like, “Ahh yes, the sweet bye and bye, it will undoubtedly be an improvement over our current circumstances; I shall look forward to that day off in the far distance. I pray that if all goes well, I shall see it.”
I suspect if the deceased could speak, he would testify, now that he is outside of time, that our ends are not at all far off, rather they are but a moment or so from what we are thinking of as now. That is why scripture reminds us that…
today is the day of salvation.
This means that for all of us, all the time, the hourglass is nearly empty. It is only a mirage that our time is spread out before us like a never ending road over the horizon. It is a fool’s gamble to assume that since we did not die yesterday, we will not die today. Even though verse 7 and beyond are frightening, I think scare tactics to motivate those yet-to-be-saved ones have limited value. I am concerned that those who make decisions under the stress of fear are not really entering into relationship with God; they are just trying to purchase a little insurance policy that may or may not pay a death benefit. It is much better that we come to God based on God’s incentives rather rather than His disincentives.
The question always at hand is, will we take Jesus at His Word; will we respond when He says,
I will give to anyone who thirsts from the spring of the water of life (who is Christ Himself) without cost (incentive).
How sad that many of the wheeler-dealers in this world overlook the bargain of eternity. While successful business negotiations in this life do not necessarily preclude one from entering eternity on heaven’s side, having ones heart invested wrongly can. If the ambition of a life is grounded solely in time, motivated solely by profit, status and the comfort it might secure, it is sad to say that this life will not qualify as the overcoming type which will inherit eternal life. And, it is important to say that this horrific outcome will have had nothing to do with the perceived relative goodness or badness of that life. It will have resulted exclusively from the fact that the timeless One was not present reigning as the Life within and the Light of that heart.
He who overcomes shall inherit these things, and I will be his God and he shall be my son.
That some believed they had not seen adequate evidence that there is a God or that, if there was, that He was worthy of their attention, will not matter at the end when God wraps up the old business of this world and pounds His gavel, closing the proceedings with these words,
IT IS DONE! I am the ALPHA and OMEGA (outside of time), the beginning and the end. My words (not our perceptions of them made inside of time) are faithful and true.
If you read Revelation you must allow that the apostle John was either hallucinogenic, a gifted and creative charlatan, or an oracle. I’m betting on the latter. Even though scripture tells us that…
eye has not seen, and ear has not heard, and which has not yet entered the heart of man, all that God has prepared for those who love Him
God permitted John, who was in a trance or dream, to leak out some things that, at the very least, stretch our hearts and minds. I think the book of Revelation was offered to us for the same reason all of scripture was given to us – to penetrate our hardened and deluded time-bound hearts with the hope and life of His Words which are by nature outside of time, always spoken in love, to invite us to partake of Him who is the water and the bread of life. (HUGE incentive)
If I were the minister at my deceased associate’s funeral. I would say……
“I am sure it would be the desire of the deceased and his family for us to take this precious fleeting moment in time that is before us as a gift so that we may each personally consider our relationship to eternity and to time; our relationship to the idols of this world; and most importantly, our relationship to the God of this world and the next. We contractors have been conditioned to think of life as a series of contracts, each with an alotted number of days to complete; each of them with their own unique incentive and disincentive clauses (to properly motivate us). The similarities between our vocation and life are profound….
We too, as individuals, each have an allotted amount of time. However, in these contracts we do not know exactly when the Owner of it all will says, “Time’s up. It is finished“. We professional managers of risk must consider our lives from the ultimate Owner’s “timeless” perspective. He who is faithful and true is saying, “Today (this moment actually) is all I have given you. You bargain drivers out there, please understand that receiving eternity as a gift is the best deal you will ever encounter. I am sure our friend, who has gone before us, would encourage each of us, in this very moment, to do business with the One to whom we will all ultimately give an account.”
I would then close in prayer;
Father, may You continue to assault and penetrate our time-driven illusions of reality with Your eternal words of abundant life. Teach us to number our days that we may present to you hearts of wisdom. May you teach us to embrace what we cannot see now so that we may one day be among those who overcame and enjoy a tearless, painless, joy-filled eternity as a part of Your very own family. And…. may you truly comfort those who have lost their loved one today. Amen.”
