Love that Waits

Song of Solomon 3:1-3

Upon my bed at night
I sought him whom my soul loves;
I sought him, but found him not;
I called him, but he gave no answer.

“I will rise now and go about the city,
in the streets and in the squares;
I will seek him whom my soul loves.”
I sought him, but found him not.

The sentinels found me,
as they went about in the city.
“Have you seen him whom my soul loves?”

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But if you loved me
Why'd you leave me?
Take my body
Take my body
All I want is,
And all I need is
To find somebody.
I'll find somebody like you.

"All I Want" written by James Oliver, Richard Flannigan, Mark Daniel Prendergast, Stephen Joseph Garrigan, Vincent Thomas May, recorded by Kodaline from "In a Perfect World"

The lament of missing love. If you loved me why'd you leave me? Upon my bed at night I sought him whom my soul loves.

We seek our lost love in the city streets. We seek our lost love in our memories. While on the streets, we even seek our lost love lost in our own thoughts. This passage from the Song of Solomon and from Kodaline's "All I Want" are both about romantic love. Lovers wander the streets. Praying for deliverance. The woman from the Song finds the King's sentinel's, but not her King. Kodaline can't find the object of their desire either. In the end they sing "All I need is to find somebody. I'll find somebody like you."

Have you ever noticed that "somebody like you" is never as good as "you?" Substitutes never substitute for the real thing.

I'm not saying you can never find true love again, I am saying finding a "substitute" is no substitute for the real thing. Hold out for the real thing.

This is love. This is the love God has for us. God wants us. God seeks us. God desires us. God knows our second best, our substitute selves aren't good enough for love.

Love is patient. How's that for the good news of the gospel in Jesus Christ, the love of God is patient. The love of God is unconditional. The love of God never leaves.
"

More Wisdom and Foolishness

1 Corinthians 1:27-31 (NRSV)

But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, things that are not, to reduce to nothing things that are, so that no one might boast in the presence of God. He is the source of your life in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification and redemption, in order that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”

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But what a fool believes he sees
No wise man has the power to reason away
What seems to be
Is always better than nothing
There's nothing at all
But what a fool believes he sees

"What a Fool Believes" written by Michael McDonald and Kenny Loggins and recorded by The Doobie Brothers from "Minute by Minute"

What a fool believes no wise man has the power to reason away. The wisdom of this world is rooted in what we see. "I'll believe it when I see it" has become the cry of a new generation. So much is this so that many won't believe the most obvious of truth without seeing it through the wisdom of their own eyes.

If the mysteries of our own world, like if the light goes off when you close the fridge, if these are questioned constantly, the mysteries of the eternal are well beyond our understanding. Yet, we seek to understand, we seek to see it with our own eyes.

Paul writes, "Jews demand signs and Greeks desire wisdom, but we proclaim Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles." There is no human sense to be made, no earthly wisdom to come from the wisdom of Christ crucified. Yet, "God decided, through the foolishness of our proclamation, to save those who believe."

"What a Fool Believes" is that love is real if only in the mind of the fool. The sentimental fool don't see, tryin' hard to recreate, what had yet to be created. Yes, maybe the man is delusional, but what if he is not? What if this is a love that may be real one day?

Casey, mighty Casey at the bat struck out. But he swung at the pitch. He went down swinging.

The fool for Christ has hope, not optimism. Optimism is based on what is possible for people. True hope is based on what God does with people. The hope of transformation, the hope of redemption. This is the foolishness of Christ crucified. Frankly, it's better than all the wisdom found on earth.

You Can't Judge a Book...

1Samuel 16:1, 6-7

The LORD said to Samuel, “How long will you grieve over Saul? I have rejected him from being king over Israel. Fill your horn with oil and set out; I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have provided for myself a king among his sons.”

When they came, he looked on Eliab and thought, “Surely the LORD’s anointed is now before the LORD.” But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for the LORD does not see as mortals see; they look on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart.”

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You can't judge an apple by looking at a tree
You can't judge honey by looking at the bee
You can't judge a daughter by looking at the mother
You can't judge a book by looking at the cover

"You Can't Judge a Book by Looking at the Cover" by Bo Diddley

How many times have we heard it, you can't judge a book by looking at its cover. How many times do we look at the Call of David from 1Samuel and realize that this is one of the lessons?

Jesse's eldest son is named Eliab. His name means "God is my Father" in Hebrew. Now that's a name suitable for the King of Israel. On top of his appropriate name, he's Jesse's eldest son which makes him a prime candidate for Kingship. On top of that, He is tall and good looking. Appearance meant as much then as it does today when selecting a leader. But the Lord is not picking the new king on these criteria.

David is Jesse's eighth son, not even the seventh son who in numerology would have been a special birth. He's not the oldest. He's not the seventh. He is the selected.

The Lord will use his own criteria to select the leader of Israel, not human tradition or customs. It's the Lord's choice and the Lord does not judge a book by the cover. Then David is ordained, covered in oil by the old prophet.

So what happened next? What comes after the anointing? The Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon David and Samuel takes off. Really, nothing happens for a while and that too is God's plan.

We have to beware our expectations. It's not uncommon for us to have preconceived notions about people, notions which prove to be baseless. We rely on our customs and traditions to help us make decisions, customs and traditions which might have outlived their usefulness. We want to get up and go, we want to do something when the Lord wants us to wait.

It's not easy to break the molds of our automatic behaviors, but that is what the Lord calls us to do. David's selection and ordination break the expectations of his family. Soon he will do the same through the world.