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The Intimacy

We have seen how a believer who is truly free from all wine bondages can genuinely fall madly in love with Him. And this love will cause one to press for more intimacy. The intimacy reveals something precious about Him unknown before. This creates, in turn, more love for Him. One cause brings an effect, which in turn produces the cause. There is no destination point. The mechanics of His love drives itself on the road to maturity.

Love is a matter of intimacy. The more profound the love is, the more intimate the relationship will be. Therefore, in this chapter we see yet another prayer, a prayer for intimacy. Again we will investigate her motive to learn more about the essence of her prayer. Finally, we have a chance to see His response and effects that brings about.

THE SECOND PRAYER

Draw me [1:4a KJV]

Here again we see her fervent desire being related directly to Him. Previously she was asking to be kissed. This time it is for closeness. Let's stop for a moment and inquire as to how our prayers measure up to this issue. Is there a burning desire in our heart to get a revelation of Jesus? To know Him better? To be intimate with Him? Do we really hunger for Him? With that in mind, let's turn to what she has to say and study in detail.

The Domino Effect

The first prayer for the kiss brings about a prayer for intimacy. The experience of the kiss creates a hunger for more intimacy. A look at His names, and attention on who He is, brings a quest to be drawn. The glimpse of His glory realizes a thirst for going for more of it. A cry for Him results in more cries for Him. That is why she desires to be brought into fellowship with Him by His Spirit. She is eager for the sweetness of the communion with Him. She wants to be lost in Him - totally! The plea is to have her lover - period.

Only in His Power

She has the required sense of self-insufficiency to come closer to Him. She knows that it is not in her power to be closer to Him. She needs His power to do just that. But that is only half of the story. On top of the inability of herself, she knows the ability of Him: "No man can come to me, except the Father which has sent me draw him; and I will raise him up at the last day" (John 6:44). She has a vibrant faith that He has the power to bring her nearer to Himself.

This knowledge would save us a lot of effort and disappointment. Let's realize that all we can do within our power is to cry to Him for help. Let's hunger for Him and know that apart from His help we can do nothing. Let's cry with David: "As a deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?" (Ps. 42:1-2).

The comforting thought is the fact that He is more than willing to draw us if we just want it. He is the most gentle ever. He won't force us or pressure us to do so. He does things in love for Himself is love. He sets us free so that we can come back to Him freely. He waits for us to turn to Him. All the time we ignore Him, He stands waiting. All the time we neglect Him, He waits. All the time we are busy with ourselves, He is there. He never gives up. When we see Him and come to Him, let's not boast thinking that we did so. No! We did not. The Lord is the One who is gracious enough to reveal Himself and patient enough for this to happen. So let's praise Him and be humble.

THE MOTIVE

... we will run after thee [1:4b KJV]

Again, the beauty of such a prayer can be more appreciated when we see the motive behind it. It is amazing to notice that the motive for the request is a desire to run after - Him! To that end, we notice that she is not alone in running after Him. She expresses that we who are in deep love with Him are running after Him too.

Run

Running, unlike walking, is progress at a faster pace. This progress towards Him is achieved by abiding and living in His Word. When one is in love and intimate with Him, then it can be easy to love His commandments. And with such heart, the grace within enables one to keep His commandments. We do not just keep them, but run to keep them. It is by this trait that one knows he is in love with Him (Johan 14:21,23-24). When we are in love with Him, we will have rich revelation of Him, in the Word. The best part is that the Holy Spirit will imprint not only the knowledge, but also the wisdom and the life into us. It is with His presence and power that one does the running.

An effort to abide in His words at a faster pace, running, requires patience (Heb. 12:1-2). The road before us is not a leisurely journey. Many tried to come up with new ideas as to how the life in this world could be a piece of cake. But it isn't. We need patience, above all, to run. So it requires diligence. But the diligence does not refer to "work". Rather, it refers to the act of surrender to Him. Once we are helplessly in love to the point that we surrender our life to Him, we will be amazed by the wonder working power of the Lord.

This is a mark of maturity, for it requires the enlargement of our heart (Ps. 119:32). This is achieved by an intimate fellowship with Him. When we are in love with Him, our heart enlarges.  We desire to be intimate, because an enlarged heart love to run to grow in Him. The growth in turn enlarges our heart even more, thus creating a far greater desire to run. Since we run through His power and grace, this motivates us to pray the draw prayer. In so doing, let's be patient and diligent in surrendering our lives to the author of life - Jesus. Let's not just run, however - let's know where we are heading ...

After Him

What we run after is more important than the running itself. When we know Him to love Him, we get into this habit of running after Him. Otherwise, we waste our energy and time running after useless things in the world. Nothing in this world is more worth our running than to run after Him. The only thing that is worth all the running possible is the love of Jesus.

Running doesn't by itself guarantee reaching the destination we want. It is running in the right direction that will bring us closer to the goal. The great thing about Jesus is that we shouldn't even bother to wonder if the road is right or wrong as long as we just follow Him. At times, too many ideas religion and the world system are confusing. Why bother? Why not just follow Him, the Person of Jesus Christ. He Himself is the truth, the way and the life (John 10:4). We don't even have to worry if we are on the right track as long as we are following Him and Him alone. What a relief!

We should guard ourselves from following people. Once we are led to Christ, we need to follow Him (John 1:37). As to the daily directions, we still get it by staying after Him. He is the ultimate wisdom. It is safe to be guided by a live Person of Jesus Christ than mere precious principles. That is why there is no substitution to an intimate love life with Jesus Christ.

As running after the world system or flesh is useless, running after Him with one's own strength is futile. Despite the fact that we are running after Him, if we rely on our own strength, we soon find ourselves exhausted. Then we faint and are limited in our progress towards Him. But if we let the Holy Spirit be our strength, running becomes natural. We can make real, fast-paced progress towards His likeness, because He supplies the love and grace to sustain us: "Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint" (Isa. 40:31, emphasis mine). In conclusion, let's make sure that we don not run in vain (Phil. 2:16).

THE RESPONSE

... the King hath brought me into his chambers [1:4c, KJV]

We have seen her prayer for more intimacy. We have investigated her motive for such fervent desire for Him. Now it is time to see His response to such a prayer. Later we will see the effects of His response.

Christ: Personal Lord

Christ is the King of kings, regardless of what anyone thinks about Him. But it changes the life of the one who accepted Him as his personal Lord and King. She refers to Him as the King. This shows that she is in complete dedication to His rule and authority. Intimate love and devotion bring about this kind of submitted life. When in love, it is a joy to give total authority to Him over everything. When drawn to His presence, it will be hard for a single part of our life to be left out of His control.

Many fall short of the blessing when they accept His as a personal Savior and ignore the acceptance of Him as their Lord. He is not just the Savior of the world. He is also the Lord of all. Those who go to the extent of making Him the Lord and the King over all their life will soon come to know the hidden treasures of His love.

Submitting to His kingly authority is not fun. It is painful. We have dreams and hopes we treasured all our lives. We have our agenda, and it is hard to just let go. Our thinking, which is shaped by the life long impact of parents and society, needs to be shattered. Our ego has to go. Our selfishness and pride must be crushed. Our comfort zone has to be violated. Our security has to be threatened. When He is the King, it means we have no vote. He becomes the sole decision maker in our lives. No wonder we have a hard time yielding our lives completely to Him.

But when we are deeply in love, we can let go and let God. We can become truly free from the fear of the unknown. Then we truly sense the real security in Him and dare to give into to Him depending on His love and care. Then we can claim to be sold out slave of His love. That means we accept Him as our Personal Lord and King over our entire life.

Note that rebelling from His rule doesn't ease the pain. It only makes us the king over our soul. With all our limitations and weaknesses, we would soon be on the road for disaster and discontentment. So it makes sense to trust Him and leave the control to Him.

Answered Prayer

Soon after her plea, He responds hastily. She was in deep need of His love and kiss. She also was eager to be drawn closer to Him. He granted her request by bringing her into His chamber. He led her to the inside of Him. He drew her to Him. There in His chamber, she can see His glory, His majesty and His beauty. She also gets to know Him and His love better than ever. She doesn't need some one to describe who He is, for she knows Him herself. She has first hand experience.

We note that it is He who brought her into His chamber. She would not by her power be able to enter into His chamber. She needed His help to do so. And she believed in Him and thus cried to Him. To that end, He responded by doing the work for her. He answered her prayers.

THE EFFECTS

We will be glad and rejoice in thee, we will remember thy love more than wine: The upright love thee [1:4d, KJV]

She is not alone in loving Him. From time to time, she refers to fellow sisters and brothers who are absorbed by His love. When she is brought into His chamber, she is able to see those who were there enjoying Him. She accounts the effects of His response as described below.

Gladness and Joy in Him

The first effect of her experience in the chamber is joy and gladness in her lover. Enjoying Christ is not only her subjective experience. Every subjective experience in Jesus is an objective reality. To that end, she says, "we". He is worthy of enjoying - the experience of all those who love Him.

It is known that happiness (gladness) is the result of favorable happenings. It is natural for us to be glad whenever favorable conditions happen in our lives. However, the degree to which we could be happy for a given happenings varies. For one who is in love, an ordinary happening which hardly moves others stirs a great happiness. When others complain the one in love is able to look at the little things and be glad. The source of happiness should not be confused with what the world offers. The world gets happiness in the things that happen. But His beloved gets happiness in Him who is behind whatever things that happen. The motivation for being glad is the fact that He is behind it. Whatsoever the little thing might be, it is from Him. And that is what matters!

The Holy Sprit has even something better than gladness called joy. Joy is the gift of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22). The joy of the Lord doesn't require any favorable condition to happen. It flows even the most distressful conditions. He is the One who puts this joy in us (Ps. 4:7). It should not be confused with the works of the flesh. It is from heaven above, from the Holy Spirit. The factor that makes this joy extraordinary is the subject of this joy - Jesus! She, along with those who fall in love, is able not only to be happy for what the Lord is doing in her life, but she has also stepped onto a higher standard and rejoices in Him no matter what.

On the other hand, the Lord is doing wonderful things. We are called to be glad in the One who is giving us favorable conditions (Isa. 41:8-16). On the other hand, the Lord has divine purpose for hard times we are going through. We are called to rejoice in Him who is behind the scenes (Hab. 3:17,18). The Word sums up these two aspects by calling us to rejoice in Him - always (Phil. 4:4). We should guard ourselves from making positive circumstances the source of our joy, for they soon will fail us. Let the source of gladness be the giver of the gift rather than just the gift itself. At the same time, we need not feel victimized by negative circumstances and be bitter toward God, for we misunderstand out true lover. Instead, let's rejoice always in Him.

The joy of falling in love is so great that nothing surpasses it. Especially falling in the supreme love of His love is a joy without a limit. When we are in His love, regardless of the situation we are in, life is exciting. What matters to us is that we are together with Him. The ups and downs of life do not disturb us any longer. Rather, we cling to our lover and enjoy His presence.

Meditate on Him more than Wine

This is the second effect of His response to her prayers. We are back to wine again. Previously she noted that His love is better than wine. Now all she can think of is His love. The care of this world and self doesn't get to her. She is not obsessed with life as a whole. He is the One who is on her mind. She is able to do this, because she is in love with Him.

Thinking on the things of the earth - the wine - exposes us to worry, anxiety, boredom, and fatigue. But loving Him and meditation on the Lord is life, joy, peace and love. Many times we wish to fill our thinking with His things only to fail. The key to such a lifestyle is not in trying hard, but in falling in love with Him - again! Loving the Person of Jesus Christ with such a love relationship will enable us to think of His things (Phil. 4:8). The exhortation of Paul to the Colossians (Col. 3:2), when read in two different versions, seems to underline this issue. The Living Bible reads: "Let heaven fill your thoughts; don't spend your time worrying about things down here" (emphasis mine). The same verse in the New International Version reads: "Set your affection on the things above, not on the things on the earth" (emphasis mine). Therefore, once we are in love with Him to the point that we prefer His love more than wine, we soon find it easier to meditate on Him than on wine.

What do we profit in setting our minds on Him? Why does the Scripture insist that we meditate on Him? We may cite the negatives it deals with: as we think of Him, it would be hard for the temptation thoughts to dwell within us. Yet there is far more gain in remembering Him. The positive side of remembering Him more than wine is that it gives satisfaction and joy unimaginable: "My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness; and my mouth  shall praise thee with joyful lips; When I remember thee upon my bed, and meditate on thee in the night watches" (Ps. 63:5-6, KJV, emphasis mine).

The Upright Love Uprightly

The third effect of His response to her prayer is that of being right and doing right. The KJV says the upright love Him, whereas the NIV says they are right to adore Him. And the NKJV says that they love Him uprightly. I love all three versions. If we combine we get this: they are upright, and hence love Him uprightly, and in doing so they are right! Those who love Him rightly are those who are upright. From the upright person, there comes the love which is right.

It is easy for one to say I love Him. But for the love to be genuine, it needs to pass the test: "If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word... He who does not love Me does not keep My words" (John 14:23,24). His words are summarized in love: loving the Lord and loving people. She is in complete fellowship with fellow people and with Him.

Her love for the Lord is not only an emotional excitement. It is real and true. The emotions come and go; but the love endures. As we go along with the book, we will notice her love grow and mature through trials and divine interventions.

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