Samuel D. High
sdhigh@aristotle.net
-----Original Message-----
From: Apostle Tom <pressingon@hotmail.com>
Sent: Wed, 24 Sep 2008 19:59:39 -0500
To: <pressingon@hotmail.com>
Subject: Morning Manna (Sept. 25); BP: Jer. 31; RBTTY: Gal. 4; Song of Sol.
September 25 “His Everlasting Love”
“The Lord has appeared of old unto me, saying, ‘Yea, I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore, with loving-kindness have I drawn you’.”
Jeremiah 31:3
As “deep calls unto deep” (Ps. 42:7a), so does His love beckon us to draw near, even when we’re wandered far from Him.
When did you first meet Jesus, the Risen Lord, Pilgrim? Do you remember the first time you heard His Name or felt His tender embrace? Can you still recall that day or night when “Heaven came down and glory filled your soul”?
If so, then most likely you find tears coming to your eyes right now as you ponder these beautiful words: “The Lord has appeared of old unto me, saying, ‘Yea, I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore, with loving-kindness have I drawn you..’”
To fully appreciate them, let’s look at them in a bit different way:
“The Lord has appeared of old unto me.” Perhaps saying “The Lord of old has appeared unto me”—which means “The God of my youth has appeared unto me” or “The One Who came to me in my darkest hour of need has appeared unto me”—will help us. Or, saying it this way will shed new light for us: “The One Who has been so faithful to me down through the years has once again come unto me and said:
“Yea, I have loved you with an everlasting love.”
An “everlasting” love? What kind of love is this?
It’s an “eternal” love. . .a “never grows old,” “never gives up” or “gets tired of me” love. . .a patient, always “looking beyond my faults and seeing my need” kind of love. And, it’s the Father’s love that “sees me afar off, has compassion on me, runs to meet me, hugs and kisses on me as He says ‘Welcome Home’” (Lk. 15:20) when I’ve messed up and realize what I’ve given up to do things my way.
“Therefore, with loving-kindness have I drawn you.”
“Loving-kindness.”
What is this thing that “draws me?”
A simple look at the word gives us one clue: “A love that is kind—not stern or demanding. A love that is merciful, giving us what we need, not what we deserve. A love that is compassionate, knowing full-well how stupid we are and prone to straying, yet still longs to lead us to green pastures and beside still waters” (Ps. 23:1-2).
And, what does it mean “to draw me”?
One meaning is “allured.” Like a moth to the flame, we’re drawn to Christ and His love. There’s something about the sight of Him, hanging on the Tree, that draws us. But, perhaps we’d do well to see it as His “binding” love. From the time He enters our heart, like the woman at the well (Jn. 4:1-29), we find in Him the “Well of living water” (v.14). And, with His “threefold cord of love, which cannot be easily broken” (Eccl. 4:12), He slowly “draws us back to His Heart,” knowing we’ll never roam again.
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