Jesus as a Lover?

  • Thread starter Thread starter primrose5891
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
P

primrose5891

Guest
I’m trying to deepen my relationship with God by focusing on developing a personal relationship with Him. It’s difficult to do, because God isn’t tangible to me. I go to daily mass, spend time in the front of the Blessed Sacrament every week- still God seems very distant to me. For me, usually the only time I experience the love of God, or any aspect of God for that matter, is through other people’s actions- their kindness, patience, wisdom, etc. It’s difficult to move beyond that and focus on God.
Someone recommended I talk to Jesus as if He were my boyfriend- eg. say things like “I love how you caress my cheek, Jesus.” Her reasoning for that is Jesus wants to marry each one of us. Heaven is the wedding feast of the Lamb, where His Church, His bride, will be united with Him for all eternity. I believe that, but think of it more as a spiritual union than as a physical one. It seems strange to me to think about Jesus as a lover and imagining Him as a boyfriend.
Does anyone have any thoughts on this, and tips on developing a personal relationship with Jesus?
 
Her advice does seem strange (it is not just you!). As with anything you hear, take it with a grain of salt.

When interacting with God, realize that his answer is not necessarily what you expect. You need to trust in his love and existence, even with no tangible evidence. Your love and trust is the relationship he seeks, even if it feels one sided.
 
:hug3:The song of songs, or Canticles has been looked at in the way your friend talked about.
I think as a woman myself and women often being more ‘romantic’ than men,
the pictures in the Canticles, of the woman looking for her beloved, can be more easily
related to by women, than by men.

I become closer to Jesus through the Canticle.

It you could think of the most pure love, between you and Jesus, in the canticles,…
ie. let him be your ‘beloved’ and you be his, and let the canticle be about you too,…
it kind of describes the beautiful love story between you two, loving each other.

Canticles doesn’t have to be ‘romantic love’, but pure love, God’s kind, His Agape, for you,…
Agape is unconditional meaning the person would lay down his life for you, which is what Jesus did, and it also means, He loves you the same no matter what you do, or don’t do, what you did, or didn’t do. It is not performance based He loves you for exactly who you are, …us, with all our baggage.

This is Holy Scripture so inspired, and I think Canticles is for us, to show us the picture
of the beautiful relationship between Jesus and us, although it has been defined and interpreted in many diff. ways by the Jewish and by Christians, it can ALSO include our pure love relationship with Jesus.

You will note how much the lady in the story loves Jesus, her beloved and how she searches to find him, (which is what you are doing, you are ‘looking’ for Him, whom your soul loves,…) and how sometimes ‘others’ interfere with this love relationship, ie. their words against you finding your beloved, and even, some other ‘christians’ beat her
and hurt her and tell her off for even looking for him. (persecution sent by the enemy, sometimes even through other Christians.)

there is beauty there, I will send you a web address for some thing good about this…
:hug3::hug3:
 
Song of Songs, Canticles, about our love relationship with Jesus…

mikebickle.org/resources/resource/1090?return_url=http%3A%2F%2Fmikebickle.org%2Fresources%2Fseries%2Fbridal-theology-in-the-new-testamen

Devotion to Jesus through the Song of Solomon, Canticles or,…
…
…;Here comes the Bride,…dada ta da.

…
this book has been defined by scholars to be about us, the Bride, and Jesus our Bridegroom
read it through and then read a study on it, it is a devotion to Jesus,…I love this,…
it brought me very close to His heart…

Song of Solomon 1

New Revised Standard Version, Anglicised Catholic Edition (NRSVACE)

1 The Song of Songs, which is Solomon’s.

Colloquy of Bride and Friends

2
Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth!
For your love is better than wine,

3
your anointing oils are fragrant,
your name is perfume poured out;
therefore the maidens love you.

4
Draw me after you, let us make haste.
The king has brought me into his chambers.
We will exult and rejoice in you;
we will extol your love more than wine;
rightly do they love you.

5
I am black and beautiful,
O daughters of Jerusalem,
like the tents of Kedar,
like the curtains of Solomon.

6
Do not gaze at me because I am dark,
because the sun has gazed on me.
My mother’s sons were angry with me;
they made me keeper of the vineyards,
but my own vineyard I have not kept!

7
Tell me, you whom my soul loves,
where you pasture your flock,
where you make it lie down at noon;
for why should I be like one who is veiled
beside the flocks of your companions?

8
If you do not know,
O fairest among women,
follow the tracks of the flock,
and pasture your kids
beside the shepherds’ tents.

Colloquy of Bridegroom, Friends, and Bride

9
I compare you, my love,
to a mare among Pharaoh’s chariots.

10
Your cheeks are comely with ornaments,
your neck with strings of jewels.

11
We will make you ornaments of gold,
studded with silver.

12
While the king was on his couch,
my nard gave forth its fragrance.

13
My beloved is to me a bag of myrrh
that lies between my breasts.

14
My beloved is to me a cluster of henna blossoms
in the vineyards of En-gedi.

15
Ah, you are beautiful, my love;
ah, you are beautiful;
your eyes are doves.

16
Ah, you are beautiful, my beloved,
truly lovely.
Our couch is green;

17
the beams of our house are cedar,
our rafters[a] are pine.

Footnotes:
a.Song of Solomon 1:17 Meaning of Heb uncertain

There are a few more chapters, read them all, and meditate on some,

WE ARE HIS BRIDE!!! HE REJOICES OVER US,…JOHN BAPTIST CALLED HIMSELF A FRIEND OF THE BRIDEGROOM, AND JESUS THE BRIDEGROOM, IT IS HOW GOD AND JESUS HAVE DECIDED TO USE THIS PICTURE TO DEFINE US AND TALK ABOUT US, TO US,…
 
HERE IS A SAMPLE FOR A FREE ONLINE BOOK YOU CAN DOWNLOAD,…IT IS WRITTEN TO BRING YOU CLOSER TO JESUS,…

songofsolomondevotional.com/preview.php

HERE IS A SAMPLE OF THE HEART OF THIS BOOK

“I Love You With All My Heart, Always, Jesus”

LET YOUR SPIRIT FEEL THE HEART OF JESUS AND HIS BRIDE THROUGH THIS EXCERPT FROM CHAPTER 8 : 6, 7 of the Song of Solomon Devotional.

This devotional study of the Song of Solomon places you dear Christian reader spiritually into the arms of your eternal Bridegroom, the Lord Jesus Christ. This whole Song is a revelation of His overwhelming love for you in a very personal way. In this devotional you must see yourself as the bride. In doing so you will be drawn into a more intimate relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ.

The Lord Jesus, your heavenly Bridegroom speaks to you…

V.6 “Set me as a seal upon thine heart, as a seal upon thine arm: for love is strong as death; jealousy is cruel (severe, unyielding) as the grave: the coals (Heb.“flames”) thereof are coals (flames) of fire, which hath a most vehement flame (+ of the Lord”)."

The word “seal” is the same Hebrew word for “signet” or “signet ring”. The king (or his representative) would affix the royal seal to a document representing His authority, will, ownership, protection or direction. It was to be permanent! Esther 8:8 is a wonderful example of this: “Write ye…in the king’s name, and seal it with the king’s ring: for the writing which is written in the king’s name, and sealed with the king’s ring, may no man reverse.”

The seal from King Jesus today is the Holy Spirit (II Cor. 1:22; Eph. 1:13; 4:30)! The Holy Spirit is the seal placed within us and assures us that what God promises in His word He will perform! That “sealing of the Holy Spirit” took place the moment she received her Beloved as her personal Lord and Savior. In this verse He is asking her to set Him as a seal upon her heart and arm. She looked very puzzled at this request from Him.

He explains, “My darling bride your heart must have My seal upon it for that is where you make your decisions. Then it must be put on your arm that carries them out. With each decision you must place My seal upon it, then nothing will ever come between us as we walk together up out of this wilderness. It will demonstrate more than anything else that you love Me with all of your heart. My beautiful bride, this is something I will never force upon you. I want you to willingly take it and make it a permanent commitment.” She knew this was the most holy and sacred moment of her life. His desire was her desire. Nothing else mattered!

A powerful presence of the precious Holy Spirit filled her whole being. Speaking in her heart He said, “Dear surrendered bride, this is the ultimate gift of joy you could give your Beloved.” The enemy fought this decision with all the demons of fear and doubt he could muster against her. But it was to no avail! Her eyes stayed steadfast upon Him. With longing, pleading words she said, “Please, my Love, I must have this seal. I must give You this joy. I must satisfy Your heart, for nothing else will satisfy me!”
 
Unveiling the Bride of Christ

unveilingthebride.com/song-of-solomon

A Commentary and revelation of the Bride of Christ.

Chapter 1:1-4 Song of Solomon

1 The song of songs, which is Solomon’s.

2 Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth: for thy love is better than wine.

3 Because of the savor of thy good ointments thy name is as ointment poured forth, therefore do the virgins love thee.

4 Draw me, we will run after thee: the king hath brought me into his chambers: we will be glad and rejoice in thee, we will remember thy love more than wine: the upright love thee.
Song 1:1-4 KJV

The Song of Solomon is an expression of the heart of the bride of Christ. Here, in these four verses the Shulamite, who is the epitome of the bride of Christ, reveals her desire to know king Solomon intimately. It was a desire beyond friendship and fellowship. She wanted to kiss him, she wanted him to draw her, and she wanted to run with him. The result of her desire was an encounter with him in his chambers, “The king hath brought me into his chambers”. The word chambers is translated from the Hebrew word “cheder” Strong’s (2315) Click here. In the Jewish marriages of antiquity, the marriage took place under the “chuppah” and the consummation took place in the “cheder”. This desire for intimacy resulted in the union and consummation of the Shulammite with the King. If our desire to know (ginosko) Strong’s (1097) Click here Jesus is as deep as the Shulamite, we too can experience a deep relationship with Him and find out for ourselves this love that “surpasses knowledge” Ephesians 3:19.

(there is much more at this site,…I just clipped a snip of it.)
 
Those are beautiful passages -thanks so much for sharing them with me. I think I will try to read and meditate on the Song of Songs. I’ve never actually sat down to read it. I’ll also download the book you linked to. What you’ve shared with me will go a long way to help me know what a personal relationship with God is like.
 
God bless you.

It is a little strange in a way, as Jesus’ love for us and ours for him isn’t really as an actual boyfriend of husband,…truly,…
because their love has things in it that Jesus’ love won’t.,…

but Jesus’ love is actually better than a boyfriend or husband’s love,…
His is pure, and all toward us, no selfishness,…and not a (sexual) love, although
this picture, bride and groom are used,

our “intimacy” is a different sort than earthly bride and grooms, but better, richer
deeper, is the love of Jesus toward us,…and He sees us as perfect,…

So while the analogy holds, the picture of the husband and wife, or beloved and loved one,…
our intimacy is a spiritual union…

I often do not feel God’s presence these days at all,…however, I did previously.
some people do others do not,…

I base my relationship with Him on what I find out in the scriptures about God and trust in that, as His very own promises and Words to me.

If you can think of the Purest love being offered to you through the words of the Canticles
and the images of you and Jesus in the bride and bridegroom,
If you were the only one on earth, JEsus would have still done all that He did, just for you,
and His relationship with each one of us is individual, He knows all about us,…
every detail and loves us fully
 
There is a catholic book called ‘This Great Lover’ and it refers to God. You should consider that Jesus is God and Our Father in Heaven, who happens to be Love. God made us in His image and the love between people seeks to unify them, and so therefore the love we have with God, seeks to unify us to God in an intimate and personal way. But its certainly not a sexual matter - there is no sexual dimension in Heaven (I believe). The relationship we have with God on this earth, prepares us for Heaven.
Someone else might know the author. Would be good for you to read this book and advise your friend accordingly who has got it wrong. These issues concern purity of thought and basic logic. It is also a symptom of secular culture, who can only think of love in terms of sex.
 
The former Abbot General of the Cistercians, Bernardo Olivera OCSO, addresses this theme in his book The Sun at Midnight.

He gives examples of a “spousal spirituality” from Hadewijch of Antwerp, “My heart and my veins and all my limbs trembled and quivered with eager desire… He gave himself to me as usual under the signs and species of the Sacrament… Then he came over, and took me entirely into his arms and pressed me to himself so that all my bodily members felt the parts of his body, just as he wanted and my heart and humanity desired.”

From St. Gertrude of Helfta, “Oh Love, to see you is to be in ecstacy in God. To cling to you is to be joined to God by a nuptial contract… Ah, Oh Love, dulcet in your kiss, you are that fountain for which I thirst.”

And from Bernard of Clairvaux and Teresa of Avila. These last two went to great lengths to ensure we understand that this is symbolic and not literal: “…Saint Bernard, to avoid misunderstandings in his monastic audience, explains so exhaustively in his commentary on the Song that the language of spousal love must be understood symbolically…” St. Teresa wrote, “You’ve already often heard that God espouses souls spiritually. Blessed be his mercy that wants so much to be humbled! And even though the comparison may be a course one I cannot find another that would better explain what I mean than the sacrament of marriage. This spiritual espousal is different in kind from marriage, for in these matters with there is never anything that is not spiritual.”

So this idea of “Jesus as Lover” has been around for some time, but I must admit that for me, as a guy, and not prone to mystical experiences, it makes me uncomfortable: too erotic!. Thankfully, there are many ways of expressing our love for Jesus
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top