Love Letter #9: Love is intimate

Husband: "When are you coming home?"
me: I'm leaving right now....
Husband: smiles :)

One of the best parts of romantic love, is desiring to be close to the object of our affection. The exchange above is from a text exchange between me and my husband just this week. As I was praying about what to share on the blog, I found myself being extremely thankful for a loving marriage. My husband and I desire to be near each other, to enjoy each other's company and to appreciate one another as much as possible. God desires the same type of relationship with us, and thus it is no coincidence that scripture describes our relationship to Christ as a loving marriage (Ephesians 5:25-33).

When we talk about love in a Christian context, sometimes we often think of it as a duty, instead of a desire. Chris Tiegreen explored the idea of love being linked with emotion: "Plenty of preachers, teachers, and writers have emphasized that love is not a feeling, but that's because they're trying to emphasize (usually in a message about marriage or enemies—or both) that love is constant and unfailing [which is true], even on your worst days when you've lost that lovin' feeling. But if you try to talk about love without using any emotional terminology, it sounds very sterile and, to be honest, unloving."

"It's important to emphasize the emotions of love, because a lot of Christians have the idea that 'love is an action.' In truth, it's much more than an action. A supervisor, servant, or caretaker can do what's best for someone without having any love whatsoever for that person. … Love involves actions—it has to translate into practical life if it's real—but most genuine forms of love can't be reduced to that. Feelings have to be involved at some level."
(http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2010/octoberweb-only/51-21.0.html)

Sometimes we can get so caught up in demonstrating love in action and duty only, that we can forget that it's supposed to be pleasurable. Love should drive us beyond what is required, beyond what is acceptable and expected; to what appreciates and honors the essence of the recipient of your love.  If we return to the beginning of First Corinthians, we read:

¹If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. ²If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. ³If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing. 1 Corinthians 13:1-3

We even see Jesus telling Mary to slow her roll, not to worry about the things that she thought he needed, and just to spend time with Him (Luke 10:38-42)-- to show love by spending time just being in His presence. 

There is even a whole book in the Bible, the Song of Solomon, dedicated to an intimate relationship and passionate love between a couple. It describes their desire to be together, and details all the things that they love about the other. This is an important reminder for the weight that God places on the intimacy of our relationships-- especially our relationship with Him. 

 If we truely know how madly in love He is with us, it would be logical to want to spend time with Him. The psalmist, David responded to the depths of His love like this:

"One thing I ask of the LORD,
  this is what I seek:
  that I may dwell in the house of the LORD
  all the days of my life,
  to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD
  and to seek him in his temple. 

 Psalm 27:4

Michael W. Smith said it like this:

Draw me close to You

Never let me go
I lay it all down again
To hear You say that I'm Your friend

You are my desire
No one else will do
'Cause nothing else could take Your place
To feel the warmth of Your embrace
Help me find the way
Bring me back to You

You're all I want
You're all I've ever needed
You're all I want
Help me know You are near 

What is our response to His love?  He wants to know when we are coming home.