Skip to main content

Day 55: Love is Perfect Sight (SoS 1:8a)

“If you do not know, O fairest among women, Follow in the footsteps of the flock, And feed your little goats Beside the shepherds’ tents.”

Song of Songs 1:8

Many times in the Bible, the disciples asked certain questions one would expect them to know the answer to, or lacked understanding of Jesus' words when they should understand. There were times they lacked faith and spoke in unbelief. Jesus was always tender to them in those moments. When He scolded, He scolded in love, when He taught, He taught patiently.

In verse 3 when the Bride began to speak about herself, she said she is dark but lovely. The Beloved speaks for the first time in reply to all she had said and her question. He started by calling her the fairest, most beautiful among women without even acknowledging her darkness. This showed that her darkness was not even significant to him.

What Jesus sees in us is a perfect image of Himself. Just like a sculptor does not see a weirdly shaped stone but that which is conceived in His mind's eye, Jesus sees us as we are in His sight. It is with that image He works in, on, and through us. It is with that image in mind He patiently works on our weaknesses and image of ourselves, chipping away that which is not of Him until we are indeed the fairest among all.

God never sees what we think we are, He sees what He has made us. We see an example of this when the Lord appeared to Gideon and asked Him to save Israel from the Midianites in Judges 6. Gideon said of himself in verse 15 (Good News Translation):

“...But Lord, how can I rescue Israel? My clan is the weakest in the tribe of Manasseh, and I am the least important member of my family.”

But the Lord said of Him in verse 12 (Amplified Classic version):

"...The Lord is with you, you mighty man of [fearless] courage"

We see in subsequent verses how the Lord was patient with Gideon, giving Him every needed sign to assure Him he is what He says he is. Gideon did display the courage the Lord had put in Him, and truly appeared to all to be a mighty man of fearless courage. There are many more examples of such in the Bible. Moses, Jeremiah, Saul, and so many others encountered God this way.

We shouldn't believe our weaknesses more than what He says about us or how He sees us. We shouldn't believe what we think we are more than what He says He has made us. We shouldn't believe our past more than the future He has proclaimed to us.

When we say we are sinful, He says we're righteous. When we say we're deserving of punishment, He says we're justified. When we say we're undeserving, He says we're loved. When we say we can't speak, He says He has put His words in our mouths. When we say we're incapable, He says we are mighty men of fearless courage.

My Pastor, Pastor Ayo Ajani of Petra Christian Centre will always say:

"Love is perfect sight."

Love covers all imperfections. Love is the filter Jesus our Beloved sees through. So in His eyes, there is no blemish, no imperfections, no weaknesses and He relates us in such manner.

I'll end with something Charles Spurgeon said on this topic that should be our decision from this day hence:

"I would rather trust Christ’s eyes than mine. If my eyes tell me I am black I will weep, but if he assures me I am fair I will believe him and rejoice."

PRAY WITH ME:
Lord Jesus, open my eyes to see myself as you see me. Let your perception of me be more real to me than my imperfections and weaknesses from this day. Amen.

REFLECT AND ACT:
  • As long as we're on this side of eternity, we will constantly have to realign our sight with God's. Write down things you know God has said about you whether through prophecies or the Bible that you are not convinced of yet.
  • Memorize, put it in your schedule to meditate on, confess and rejoice about them daily.

Comments

Post a Comment

What do you think about today's lesson? Please share something you learnt.

Popular posts from this blog

Day 53: The Unforced Rhythms of Grace (SoS 1:7a)

“ Tell me, O you whom I love, Where you feed your flock, Where you make it rest at noon. For why should I be as one who veils herself by the flocks of your companions? Song of Songs 1:7 Aft er the Bride's experience of being overworked, she didn't seek her Beloved in His chambers, nor did she seek Him in a place of leisure. Rather, she sought Him at His workplace. When we find ourselves in a spiritual crisis, especially when we're overworked or burnt out by activities, we must realize that oftentimes, the problem is not how much or what we're doing but how we are doing it. There is only so much the human flesh and mind can handle when it comes to physical work talk less spiritual. Paul did express in 1 Corinthians 15:58 in the Amplified version that we are to labor in our work for the Lord to the point of exhaustion . I believe it's why Paul in praying for the Ephesian church prayed for them to be strengthened with might by God's Spirit in their inner man . Thin...
Post a Comment
Read more

Day 152: To the Mountain of Myrrh (SoS 4:6)

Until the day breaks and the shadows flee away, I will go my way to the mountain of myrrh and to the hill of frankincense. (Song of Songs 4:6) In the previous lesson, we began to examine the Bride's response to the Beloved's seven-fold compliment. We discussed how she finally gave a positive reply to a request he had previously tendered in SoS 2:17. We examined a part of her response, and now let's explore the next part: ...I will go my way to the mountain of myrrh and to the hill of frankincense. We have mentioned a couple of times in this series that myrrh is a burial spice. Its mention in the Bible often signifies death and sacrifice. It was one of the spices presented to Jesus at His birth and was also used to prepare Him for burial. In the same way that Jesus embraced death on the cross, the Bride goes to the mountain of myrrh embracing death to self. She knows resolute obedience will cost her that. Jesus said in Luke 14:27: ...whoever does not bear his cr...
Post a Comment
Read more

Day 50: Keeping Your Vineyard (SoS 1:6d)

“Do not look upon me, because I am dark, Because the sun has tanned me. My mother’s sons were angry with me; They made me the keeper of the vineyards, But my own vineyard I have not kept. ”    Song of Songs 1:6 In John chapter 15 Jesus gives us the blueprint of a fruitful vineyard. He said He is the True Vine, God is the Vinedresser and we are the branches. Then He proceeds to state the responsibility of each party in keeping the vineyard. Let's look at them. 1. Responsibility of Jesus as the True Vine: Just like a branch cannot exist talk less bear fruit without the vine, we exist in God because of Jesus. He is the source and sustainer of eternal life which we received at salvation and it is this empowers us to bear fruit. 2. The Responsibilities of God as the Vinedresser: The Father is the One working on us to bring forth good works (fruits) for his glory. Jesus lists the responsibilities of God as the Vinedresser in verse 2. First to the branches that don't have fruit and t...
Post a Comment
Read more