ManageYourEmotionsBook8.5x5.5_RevJULY.indd

voicing this gracious request: “Open to me, my sister, my darling, my dove, my perfect one! For my head is drenched with dew, my locks with the damp of the night” (5:2). Note that the man’s appeal indicates: Urgency – He had been separated from his bride and yearned for a reuniting. Likewise, Jesus loves His bride and desires close connection. Delays can be dangerous.Today is the day to respond to and live for Christ. Suffering - He had no doubt traveled through the night fighting the elements in his quest to return to her. Jesus endured false accusations, a mock trial, and a severe beating the night before the crucifixion. Affection – The groom uses personal, pet names like “dar- ling” and “dove” to express his true love and absolute trust. God loves us infinitely more than that -- so much so that He sacrificed His only Son for our salvation. Jesus said this to the church at Laodicea -- words that are just as applicable today as they were when spoken 2,000 years ago: “Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will dine with him, and he with Me” (Revelation 3:20). Like Jesus, the groom stood at the door and knocked. Based on what we know of the situation, one would think that his bride couldn’t have arrived at the door soon enough. Instead, she answers his call with a feeble excuse : “I have taken off my dress, how can I put it on again? I have washed my feet, how can I dirty them again?” (Song of Solomon 5:3). One would not have expected such a re- sponse from a woman who was madly in love with a man. But then again, most people respond in the same way to a God who loves them and invites them to enter into a personal relationship with Him. In another parable, Jesus told about a man who prepared a feast and sent his servant out to gather in his invited guests (see Luke

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