So I’ve sat down a couple of different times, so excited to share one of the deepest parts of my heart- this idea that God wants to have an exciting playful relationship with us, and how he wants to chase us around Naked. 😉 In just the past few hours though, God has radically added to the connotation that idea has.
One of my most favorite things to talk about when I am telling people about God and the relationship He has with me, is that He wants me to get to know Him.
Even more so than that, though? Is that HE wants to know ME.
In Genesis 4:1 the Bible says “Adam knew Eve…” some say “Adam made love to Eve..”
and whatever your translation says, we all know that means Adam and Eve were gettin’ it on, brown chicken brown cow, yada yada yada.
Actually– the word there in Hebrew is seriously ‘Yada’.
If you’re an American, you probably became familiar with the word “yada” thanks to the infamous “Yada” episode on the Jerry Seinfeld T.V. sitcom in the 1990’s. When interjected in conversations, “yada yada yada” cleverly avoids sharing details of intimate encounters.
Yada is a word that means ‘to know’. It is translated almost 950 times in the Bible, and (as Jerry Seinfeld got it right) denotes this deeply intimate connection.
You see- Adam did have sex with Eve and bore a son. But God chose this word, Yada, because Adam didn’t just know her physically- he KNEW her. He knew her on the inside and he knew her on the outside. He knew the way she best received love and he had this deep connection with her.
So. What does this have to do with How God loves me or wants to chase me naked??
Jer 5:1 says “Before I formed you in the womb I knew (Yada) you”
Ps 139:1 says “You have searched me, Lord, and you know (Yada) me”
And one of my favorites
John 17:3 “Now this is eternal life: That they know (Yada) you”
Eternal life?
Isaiah 54:5 says “For your maker is your husband, the Lord of Hosts is His name…”
So, You mean to tell me that it is life everlasting to have an intimate, personal, emotional, deep rooted connection with my groom? My lover?
When I was a little girl I would think about my wedding day as this beautiful spectacle.
But once you actually have an emotional connection with this man you’re to marry- I’m sure the honeymoon isn’t something that seldom comes to mind.
Why? Because your marriage is no longer a concept- and now you have a groom that you have a burning passion to know on the deepest level you can.
Are we getting anywhere yet?
The God of the universe hand designed me to be His sons perfect bride, and He has an eager desire to Know (Yada) me!
To take it a step farther– The father made the Son, and the Son (my groom) gave me the Holy Spirit because He desired to be inside of me. (Sexual pun intended).
My God wants to know me. He designed me to give me life everlasting, and he says the way to get there? Is to intimately and passionately know Him and be known by Him.
Now- I’m not married yet to a man here on earth, but I imagine when I get married, that I will want to chase my spouse around naked.
Wikipedia defines the word naked as being unclothed; undisguised; blatant; without usual protection; exposed to harm; unprotected or vulnerable.
Can you imagine your honeymoon with your clothes on and your guard up, wearing a full suit of armor, and wielding a weapon? Not a chance. I’m sure the average human being can’t tear their clothes off fast enough.
So why is it that even when we know God has formed us at conception to the exact specifications His son wanted in a bride, searched the ugliest parts of our hearts, and then tells us we are so pure that He wants to wed us to His only son in the most beautiful marriage the world will ever see- we throw our guards up and won’t let Him in?
Why don’t we want to play with our spouse? Why do we deny our lover of the best parts of our marriage?
I think God wants us to be naked with him. Bearing everything we have before Him, in the most transparent and vulnerable fashion. Completely unguarded and exposed to Harm, so that as our groom He can sweep us up, show us how we are beautiful, play with us, protect us, and get to know (Yada) us.
God wrote us the greatest love letter of all time, and while He wants this intimate relationship with each one of us, He chases me differently than He chases you. Because He knows my heart, and He knows your heart, and my love language is different than yours.
I could keep adding and adding to all of the things that this relationship means, and how it makes me read my entire bible differently now, but I’ll end with this.
In the beginning of this blog I mentioned that God has radically added to these thoughts of mine in the past few hours.
I have been praying about a couple who just returned from the world race gap year program with AIM, and they got married. 30 hours into their marriage, they got in a car crash and the husband died immediately.
After being on extensive life support, today the wife went to be with Jesus as well.
Being on the gap year program means they were between the ages of 18 and 22…
I know it is said so often that life is short.
But the reality of that is much harder than the words that hit so softly sometimes.
Are you going to spend every day of your marriage treating your lover, your groom, as if today is the last day you’ll be with Him? Or will you put your guard up and shove Him away?
Will you allow yourself to TRUELY be one with Him? To take that transparency and vulnerability and love Him well?
The Bible teaches us over and over again that loving God well looks like loving other people as He first loved us.
So Will you love everyone around you the same as He does? To stand up for what your spouse stands up for, and to fight for love and forgiveness and grace?
As for me- I will choose to be a bride.
A bride who stands up for her husband every single day. Who delights in the passions of His heart. Who believes Him when He tells me I am pure. Who spends every moment playing with Him and telling Him that He smells amazing. Who is vulnerable and messy and not always put together, because marriage can be hard.
But lucky for me? I have a groom who also fights for me. Who holds no record of the times I yell at Him, and forgives me freely.
Who speaks beauty and light over me, knowing my sin but calling me by name.
Who gently as well as fiercely knocks me off my ass sometimes when I’m being a real piece of work. (Acts 9)
Who has always returned to me when I’ve cheated on Him, which has been too many times to count, And not only does He return, but He still desires to chase me around naked; yada yada yada.
“Come away with me, Come away with me
It’s never too late, it’s not too late
It’s not too late for you
I have a plan for you
I have a plan for you
It’s gonna be wild
It’s gonna be great
It’s gonna be full of me
Open up your heart and let me in”
(Lyrics to the below posted song you should check out)
