holding hands

The other day I learned something that completely blew my mind and changed the way I think about a lot of things. I'll try to walk you through it :)

First of all, this scripture:

For thy Maker is thine husband; the Lord of hosts is his name; and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel; The God of the whole earth shall he be called. {Isaiah 54:5}

Thy Maker is thine husband. The metaphor the Lord chooses to use for His relationship with us is husband & wife. Interesting.

Let's next look at two of the ten commandments:

Thou shalt not bow down thyself to [idols], nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God. {Exodus 20:5}

Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wife... nor any thing that is thy neighbour’s. {Exodus 20:17}

Doesn't there seem to be a discrepancy here? God calls Himself a jealous God, then commands us not to covet. How can this be? Look closely at the commandment not to covet... not to covet what, specifically? Thy neighbour's wife. Here's the thing though... we aren't "His neighbour's" wife. We are His, by covenant and by marriage. He is jealous for me. I am His. He bought me with a price & by covenant I am His. Thank God, literally! What love He has for me. He will never break that covenant.

Jehovah Himself said,

"Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness...

For I the Lord thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee." {Isaiah 41:10,13}

"Other comforts fail and comforts flee," as the hymn says, but He will not.

Neal A. Maxwell taught,

"God has no distracting hobbies off somewhere in the universe. We are at the very center of His concerns and purposes." [Compare this with the god Baal in 1 Kings 18:27, who might've been off on a journey or sleeping somewhere in the universe.]

I need to be as devoted to Christ as He is to me. Jesus comes first, above and before everything and anything else. No "holding hands" with anyone or anything else! And no cuddling with my fears. This is what it means to be faithful.

Being the bride of Christ takes faith. It takes faith to choose Him first, run to Him first, turn to Him first. 

Remembering this metaphor He gave has taught me a great deal about my relationship with Christ. For example, husbands pay for things. Jesus paid for everything; my job is to let Him and stop trying to pay for things myself. He already suffered for sin, I don't need to suffer for it again.

Being married to Him, I get to go where He goes. It's almost like a marriage visa ~ I can be sealed to Him and brought to heaven because of the covenant. My job is to cleave unto Him, keep my covenants, love Him, be faithful to Him, & put Him first in all things. :)

I feel my Savior's love :)