*~The Divine Romance~*

" The fullness of Your grace is here with me
The richness of Your beauty’s all I see
The brightness of Your glory has arrived
In Your presence God, I’m completely satisfied

For You I sing I dance
Rejoice in this divine romance
Lift my heart and my hands
To show my love, to show my love

A deep deep flood, an Ocean flows from You
Of deep deep love, yeah it’s filling up the room
Your innocent blood, has washed my guilty life
In Your presence God I’m completely satisfied"
~Phil Wickham~

Well, I've been reminded of the amazing story of the heavenly romance in progress throughout all of time by my friend Tim Bundy, who is writing a paper on it, and excited shares all of the facts with my in the midst of his studies in the coffee shop that I'm working in.
I've heard some say that they hate the "Jesus is my boyfriend" fad that seems to especially be going on throughout the single Christian teenage/young woman group these days. And in some ways, I can see their point. It can come across demeaning to limit the Son of the Holy God to the level the lovey-dovey companion a single girl wishes she has. Jesus Christ's role in our lives is so much more vast than that. He is our Savior, Redeemer, Warrior, Priest, Intercessor... the list could go on for a while! And to refer to your relationship with Christ as a replacement of a boyfriend some what implies that once you have a human boyfriend, the romance with Jesus goes down the drain.

The reality of it, is that the "husband" imagery in the Bible is really much deeper than Jesus being your boyfriend/husband replacement. The imagery gave a picture to the Israelites of the relationship God was creating and desiring for, and how He was pursuing his people. For me, it is a little intimidating to think of personally being married to God in heaven. But, the beautiful thing, is that it isn't individually, but as a body. We as the Body of Christ, His Bride, are being perfected to be presented to Him.

I did some research on all the Hebrew/Jewish wedding tradition, just to see what all God was referring to when He used the wedding imagery to communicate to the Israelites how He was pursuing His bride. (Go Cultural Anthropology with Penland!! ;-) ) [and hopefully my sources are reliable]

~ The Hebrew word for marriage: "kiddushin" means "to make holy" or "sanctify"
~ The betrothal was the first step in pursuit, and was typically initiated by the bridegroom.
~ The bridegroom would negotiate with the bride's father on the price to be paid, and once it was paid, they were considered husband and wife... but that's just the beginning! (The Cross: 1 Corinthians 6:19-20)
~ At this point, the bride was considered set apart, consecrated, sanctified
~ To symbolize the commitment to the covenant relationship, the groom would drink wine from a cup poured by the father, and then offer it to the bride. If she also drank, she was accepting and committing. (The Last Supper and Communion: 1 Corinthians 11:25)
~ The bridegroom then left to return to his father’s house where he would prepare living accommodations for he and his bride. (John 14:1-4)
~The bride was left to faithfully wait, and prepare herself for marriage.
~When the bridegroom would return (usually a year later), he would normally return at night, announced by a shout, with his groomsmen. (John 3:28-30; 1 Thessalonians 4:16)
~Although the bride knew he was returning, she did not know specifically when. ~ The bride is the last to join the wedding party. And when she does, she circles the groom seven times (number of completion) to symbolize that he is the center of her world. [probably wasn't a tradition back in Bible times, but it's still a cool symbol.]

There are probably more pieces that can be pulled out, and much more scripture to back it up... but I have to go to work for now... maybe I will continue later :o)

To quickly refer back to the top, this song by Phil Wickham totally gets me every time I hear it. I know that the Divine Romance involves way more than just me and God, it's really about the Church, not me as an individual alone. But, knowing that I'm a part of it is incredible. To imagine the bride circling her bridegroom... he is the center of her world...His beauty is all that she sees... He has arrived in His glory...She is finally in His presence, and completely satisfied...all because He paid for her with His blood. How incredible to be a part of that! And it is so exciting to know that I will, hopefully, someday have a marriage relationship and experience shadowy example of that love.