But my mouth would encourage you; comfort from my lips would bring you relief.
Job 16:5 (NIV)
How can I? by Cathy Vinson |
Out of life's necessities we erect artificial boundaries. I can only go this far, we think, and there stands our limit...until One mercifully comes along beckoning us to open up at that point to Him. In Scripture this sentiment seems respectfully bestowed upon the female. As her lover comes to her door, Solomon's maiden says "HOW CAN I put on my coat?" She has spent her day. The putting off of her coat means a cessation of weary duties and errands. "HOW CAN I" dirty my feet now that I have bathed? The evening has brought the washing away of the day's sweat and grime. Please leave her shortlived cleanness untouched. Even Martha can be heard to be saying "HOW CAN I"...sit in repose when much is to be done. I even wonder if we can hear it in the heart of Lot's wife: "HOW CAN I leave my life here? This is the home my children were raised in, filled with cherished memories and decorated in due time. This is the town I have prayed for...these are the relationships cultivated, growing deeper roots as each season turned." "How can I?" There will be a softening going on at the edges of these long-guarded limits. And it will happen by the One who draws near out of the evening with his "head filled with dew, his locks with the drops of the night" (vs 2). He leaves some of His fragrance by the handles of the door, and I begin to repent. Will I still refrain because of my well-developed excuses? Or will I soften? If I shall not, won't I too learn the lesson of such starvation for His fellowship, that I will roam through the streets and find the true worth of the things I held at bay. I will be "sick of love" (vs 8). |
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| "I have put off
my robe-how can I put it on again? I have washed my feet-how can I soil them again?"
(S of S 5:4) |
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