By Pastor Kevin Barnhart
Spring Grove Evangelical Free
Jealousy is a deep and very real emotion. It bubbles up in ways that so often we categorize as negative. Being jealous over possessions, over a physical trait, talents, relationships, over all kinds of things we long for and indeed God commands us not to covet anything. But, and this is the most beautiful caveat you can ever imagine; what if God was jealous for you? What if there was space in our hearts to gaze upon, to revel in and soak up, the most incredible kind of jealous love that ever existed? The kind of jealousy that demanded exclusivity, that required an unshared mutual devotion, the kind of jealousy that would take the most inhumane kinds of torture; sacrificing everything just to be with their beloved (YOU) – what if you were the treasure that was sought after? What if you read the Bible and you heard it for the very first time as not some far off distant story; but rather as a factual love story written just for you … Isn’t it what every single Hollywood movie tries to recreate but can never capture? Why, because there is no greater love than the love of Christ Jesus. There is no substitute. To be the one whom God would seek after with all His Heart, All His soul, ALL of HIM Father Son and Holy Spirit. God does not ask anything from us that He did not first do for us. Could you ever even begin to desire anything more? Would a new car fill that gap, a new house, a promotion, a relationship, a friend, a new talent, would anything in all the earth fill the desire in your heart to be fully known, fully loved and treasured beyond eternity?
God love us with a jealous love. The Bible tells us that he does. God tells us that God is love and that He loves us with a jealous love. God loves you with an exclusive covenant keeping love and He wants you to love reciprocally.
What if this love was the love that you were always meant for? The words for love in the Bible cross through different languages but they are all beautiful. God loves you unconditionally and for your highest good, God loves you in ways that stick with you no matter what. This exploration leads us to a powerful place of mutual belonging. Not fully dependent, nor fully independent but interdependent and in a state where you belong to another and they belong to you. We live in an era where independence is valued over just about everything. Our souls long for belonging. To know and be known is what we were made for. We climbed to the top of the ladder of independence, and we have found it a very lonely place. So, we medicate the angst of the misery of own making. But what have we lost along the way – much more than we have gained. We are at the top of the ladder, but we find that our ladder is against the wrong wall. So now what? We do the only sensible thing we climb down. It’s painful to do, it means admitting we got this wrong, and we want to get it right. That is what Biblical language calls repentance. It’s a beautiful gift that allows for new beginnings, but it starts with being honest with ourselves that we got this whole thing wrong. Most won’t admit that – it’s too hard. It’s like admitting you have lost the keys but want to argue that you haven’t or don’t want to say that you are lost even when you have no idea where you are. You climb down the ladder of excessive independence so that you can have belonging. You let in covenant-keeping love that has been chasing you your whole life.
So, what do you think? Are you ready for that kind of love? It’s what you were made for, and you will never be truly happy without it. Maybe today is the day you give God’s jealous love for you a chance, Jesus has been knocking just open the door.
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