I recently saw an interesting Aerie commercial that featured girls posing daintily in lingerie, while the narrator’s soothing voice in the background commented that Aerie girls “are strong and beautiful,” and that they “don’t need a prince” because “the fairytale has changed.” And honestly, when I glance around our culture today it’s not difficult to spot the strong waves of feminism and independence for women that are molding society.
But in truth, there’s another current that’s still just as strong and just as steady, if not as widely encouraged and publicized, as it used to be: Many young women still have a yearning for the prince who will sweep them off their feet in classic fairytale fashion. I mean, let’s face it y’all- by the time guys get past adolescence, they’re starting to get pretty attractive. I know longing for romance and a relationship before I'm at a marriageable age is something that I struggle with on a daily basis, and from those I’ve spoken with, I know I’m not the only one. Not that these desires are unnatural or wrong- God created us this way! The difficulty comes when we let those thoughts and desires come first in our minds, hearts, and actions; when we let them become an idol valued above God. When I think about why I want so badly to fall in love, to be in a relationship, several things (okay, it's actually a lot of things... :) come to mind: I want to be wanted and desired. I want to be sought out, cherished. I want to be appreciated. I want to be seen as unique. I want someone to be proud of me, to know me. To make time to spend with me just because he enjoys it. To sacrifice other things for me. I want to be chosen. Y’all, God has been showing me that while Jesus isn’t meant to take the place of a husband, and that as a woman I am designed as a relational being with a desire “for my husband” (Genesis 3:16), those innate, essential needs of my heart have been met and fulfilled in Christ! Christ Sees Me as Unique and Beautiful! We all know that we’re created in the image of God, which (in and of itself) is a pretty amazing thing, when you think about it. But Psalm 139 goes even further than that, describing how God wove us together in the womb, and how we are “fearfully and wonderfully made!” Ephesians 2:10 calls us the “workmanship of God.” WOW! The God who paints sunsets with a gorgeous array of colors, shimmering and bursting forth in their glorious brilliance, says that I am wonderfully made! The God who crafted the vivid blues and greens and whites of the Rocky Mountains says I am his workmanship! The God who directed a dazzling display of shimmering stars into place has also woven me together, just the way he wants me! How amazing it is to think that the CREATOR of our universe looks upon me, and calls me beautiful. No human could give a compliment that carries nearly as much weight. Christ Has Pursued Me! When I think about romance and the amount of girls who try to force relationships with everyone they “like,” something that resonates within me is that I want someone who I don’t have to “rope into” a relationship; I want someone who pursues me first, who initiates a relationship because of what they see in me, not because of the verbal manipulation I’ve employed. Christ has done this for me! Romans 5:8 reminds us that even while we were completely uninterested in him, dead in our sins, he reached out and died for us. And the amazing thing is that Christ’s pursuit, his love, is individual to each of us; though he loves the whole world, he has an individual love for me, for Caelan, and an individual love for you. The parable of the lost lamb shows this devotion- though the shepherd had ninety-nine others, he would not stop his relentless pursuit until he found The One (Luke 15). I have met a God who longs to connect with me, to talk to me, to know my heart! I love the way The Message version puts Psalm 23:6- “Your beauty and love chase after me every day of my life.” Christ Sacrificed Everything For Me! More so than any prince in any fairy tale, Christ is the ultimate hero in his love story with his bride, the church! Like Gomer, the prophet Isaiah’s wife who turned from the love of her husband to other lovers, we turned from the God who created us towards sin. And yet his love for every single one of us went so deep that Christ chose to give his own life so that he could have a love relationship with us. He fought the great dragon, took the mortal blow, and then rose VICTORIOUS from the ashes, coming forth to rescue us! To make each and every girl a princess, hard won by his own spilled blood, and more precious to him than diamonds. It’s the best love story of a king who left his holy domain and descended into the dust and ashes of peasants, to woo a servant girl without a single asset to her name. The words of Stuart Townend’s hymn so well express this wondrous event: How deep the father’s love for us How vast beyond all measure That he should give his only son To make a wretch his treasure! Christ Has Chosen Me! That’s the most amazing part of this story. The God of the universe and Maker of the heavens reached down and chose me, appointed me! (John 15:16) “Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes” (Ephesians 1:4). The individual love that God has for me is overwhelming and powerful; it’s so great that it almost can’t be grasped by my finite understanding. But I do know that his love is there, that it’s big, that it’s supernatural, and that it has pursued me relentlessly. It doesn’t take away desires for human relationship- but it does remind me that God is good, that he is competent, and that he fulfills every one of my needs more fully and completely than any guy could or even should be expected to. “The LORD your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with singing” (Zephaniah 3:17). How truly great is our God. How deep is his love for us. How much he has given. How fully we are Chosen.
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AuthorHey, I'm Caelan! I'm a sophomore at Baylor University and love life and the world God has created for us to explore through learning, the arts, and the outdoors. But most of all, I seek to know HIM. Psalm 34:5 says that those who look to God are radiant. I desire to shine the radiance and glory of the Father, for from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. Soli Deo Gloria Archives
November 2019
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