On that fateful morning, she got up, said a quick thanks to God, and dashed out the door for a morning run. The pleasant summer breeze wheezed past her as she ran to the park. Hopefully, she is not too late today to chat with him before he leaves for work. She breezed through familiar faces and greetings, barely managing a response. Few steps to the centre of the park, their usual meeting spot, she could feel a warm smile coming up her cheeks, maybe a little flutter in her heart. He was sitting right where she knew he would be, waiting for her. His smile was all the greeting she needed. Without a word, they ran together through the familiar streets, until they came to their break-point; a little area off the main road from the park, with lush greens and a great view of the mountains. Still panting, she could not help but admire the view, heading for her favourite spot to sit down. She got there only to find a full box of chocolates and a bouquet on it. “Someone’s night must not have gone as planned”, she thought. She picked up the little card hidden in the flower bouquet to read the note.
“I get on your nerves, and you get on mine,
But we get along great the rest of the time.
Your parents don’t like me; mine aren’t crazy about you,
But both of us know it so that’s nothing new.
I’m a bit of a slacker and you’re kind of a slouch.
Sometimes we’re both over-inclined to grouch.
When you look at things this way, I’m sure you’ll agree.
Who else would have us without a warranty?
In spite of these facts, you’re still my honeybee.
So let’s settle for each other; say you’ll marry me Kay.” -Anonymous-
She began reading through with much delight until she got to her NAME? The only person who called her that was…
She turned to look for him. He knelt there on one knee, a little black box in hand, housing an incredibly beautiful emerald necklace, and grinning from cheek to cheek, with a brow turned up.
“while Moses went up to God. The Lord called to him out of the mountain, saying, “Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the people of Israel: 4 ‘You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. 5 Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine; 6 and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words that you shall speak to the people of Israel.”
7 So Moses came and called the elders of the people and set before them all these words that the Lord had commanded him. 8 All the people answered together and said, “All that the Lord has spoken we will do.” And Moses reported the words of the people to the Lord.” Exodus 19 (ESV).
God’s proposal
A proposal is clear and concise and asks an intentional request of the recipient. When two people have romantic interests towards each other, every well-wisher looks forward to the engagement. The book of Exodus portrays a courtship between God and Israel. This is so obvious with the way in which God saved her from her enemies and proceeded to woo her heart with his love, with a ceremony at Mount Sinai. This is not just for chuckles, for it is quite true. Else, why the illustrations of Isaiah 5 and the book of Hosea? Similarly, Jesus came to woo His bride/His church to Himself, so that she might be presented to Him as a pure bride. Christ died to save her from sin and the devil. Christ resurrected so that in Him, she can receive His life in her, made possible when He poured His Holy Spirit in her, the Spirit of Life. It is worthy of note that although every believer is married to Christ for the church is made up of believers, not every believer is yielding to Christ’s Lordship over their lives. At baptism, we confess before God and other believers that we now belong to Christ, and this new birth in Christ can be likened to the principle of marriage. This is to be taken seriously because much of the problems we face within Christendom are related to a misunderstood identity in Christ. Our relationship with Christ is not some business deal or casual friendship, it is a full-blown marriage. No one is forced into it, rather, God leads us to see Him, love Him, and accept Him as our only Lord and God. God brought a gift to seal this promise; the Holy Spirit, poured into us, from the day of redemption till forever.
Any response?
In the index passage, God stated His terms, and the people responded in agreement. We see that for as long as they kept His covenant, God was good to them. However, the concern is in keeping to the terms of the covenant. Have we been called? Have we been baptized? Do we bear His seal of redemption? So also the Israelites were called, chosen, sealed with His promise. Unlike them, we have a better covenant that can never be broken. But do we keep to the terms of the new covenant? We married Christ, but we may not be yielding to Christ or His Holy Spirit. Imagine a union of two bodies but not two hearts; it will be a disaster because each will heed his/her interests. The teachings of God’s word to us are God’s principles for us to follow. If we do not read them, we cannot follow them. But when we read, His word dwells in us and manifests fruits of righteousness and trust in us. Each time we resist the Holy Spirit, we refuse Him full access into areas of our lives that need to be sanctified and conformed to Christ. When we resist Him, He grieves as a husband will grieve too if his wife refuses to submit to his headship. We are called to an intimate union with God in His Spirit, and not to a social distancing kind of communication. Saying yes is not enough for Jesus. I Surrender all is the response of those who love him. We should spend every waking moment surrendering to him, and at night when we cannot do much, but sleep, then his banner over us remains love.
To someone out there, this could be just the confirmation you need to say yes to Jesus, to His calling, to His will, to His love, to His way.
—She looked at his tear-filled eyes, and she touched her necklace, and right there, she knew she had made the right decision. Holding hands and holding hearts, they walked together back to
