We all have had moments that leave us with a striking impression of creation's vastness and our comparative powerlessness, moments in which the awesome universe leaves us breathless. Perhaps it was the beauty of an exquisite sun tucking itself beneath the horizon that evoked such a sentiment. Perhaps it was the sight of miles upon miles of azure ocean stretching before us. Or perhaps it was something so simple as an ordinary night sky turned extraordinary when we stopped to really gaze at the onyx expanse. The universe is indeed a masterpiece; its every detail—from its brilliant colors to its delicate patterns to its awe-inspiring slopes—suggest careful design and measure. Certainly it could be none other than God who performed such a work of genius. He is the Creator, the One who called the things not being as being.¹ In His creating capacity, He is unfathomably mighty. David, the King of Ancient Israel, aptly spoke when he said,

You are blessed, O Jehovah, God of Israel our Father, from eternity to eternity. Yours is the greatness and the power and the splendor and the victory and the majesty, indeed all that is in heaven and on earth; Yours, O Jehovah, is the kingdom, and You are exalted as Head over all. Both riches and glory proceed from You, and You rule over all. In Your hand are power and might, and it is in Your hand to make great and to give strength to all.²

God's Desire
But while the Bible defines God as majestic and omnipotent, it also reveals that the Almighty God has a desire. Jehovah, the One whose speaking brought man into being, longs for something. We do not recognize this fact with alacrity; it is natural to suppose that a Being so high above us possesses no desire. Just as children cannot fathom that their parent—caregiver and supplier of all they require—has certain yearnings, it is perhaps shocking for us to ascribe a desire to God. According to our logic, how could a Being who is indeed complete and perfect possess a desire? Yet the Bible unfolds for us a portrait of a God who is full of feeling. He delights in certain things³, finds pleasure in certain things⁴ and desires certain things.⁵

When we really stop to think, it makes sense that God has a desire. Attention to the world around us reveals an important principle: the more living a being is, the greater its desire. A stone, for example, is lifeless; as an inanimate object, it has no desire. Whether it rests in a park or is ground to fine powder does not bother a rock one way or another. Dogs possess a higher life and present greater desires; human beings possess an even higher life and demand even more. As the highest life of all, then, God must have an enormous desire.

An Eternal Yearning
The desire that penetrates the depths of God's being is wrapped up in humankind. Although creating the heavens and the earth pleased Him, fashioning a human being delighted Him all the more. Yet God desires a relationship with humankind that goes beyond that of a Creator to His creation. The book of Isaiah makes known to us that "your Maker is your Husband."⁶ We commonly hear of God as a Father to His many children, a Savior to the perishing, or a Shepherd to His flock. But He is also a Husband who yearns for His counterpart, His match. However mighty and omnipotent He is, our God desires a Bride, that is, a group of people who have His life and who love Him. These people are the object of His most tender affections. In eternity past, God's thoughts were riveted on a Bride, and today this Bride is His deepest heart's desire. In other words, God has His heart set on a romance, a divine romance.

Crazy for Love
Love is powerful. Flipping on the radio and listening to the gusto of love's power is enough to convince someone who has never dabbled in the thing. The enamored have composed sonnets, lilted serenades, and erected monuments as a tribute to love. In the tradition of medieval courtly love, knights fought duels to win the favored lady. Love can collapse machismo into a puddle of tender tears, or embolden the most timid of souls. It can disorient the level-headed and discipline the absent-minded.

If human love is powerful, divine love is infinitely more so. Whereas we have a limited capacity to love, God's being is a composition of love. The Bible says that God is love.⁷ Furthermore, just as human beings have done crazy things for love, in a sense so has God. Because He loved us so dearly, He did something radical. Although He once existed only in the realm of eternity, God, motivated by His far-reaching love for human beings, laid aside His splendor. He is almighty and majestic, but a love far beyond comprehension caused Him to step out of His glory and put on the lowly form of a man.He came down as a man to reach man. Rather than approaching His disciples with an attitude of condescension and disdain, Jesus met them as His fellow countrymen. Concealing His majesty and glory, He approached Peter the Galilean as a Galilean. Later, the very God who created the universe washed the feet of His disciples. His personality is not impersonal and distant; He does not look down from on high and delight in the folly of mankind. On the contrary, our God is personal and affectionate, and He came down as a man to reach each one of us personally. Galatians 2:20 states that God "loved me and gave Himself up for me." God's love for us is expressly personal.

Love as Strong as Death
God, driven by an enduring, unshakable love, not only chose to limit Himself within a human body and within the confines of time, but went so far as to die on the cross for each one of us. He took our place on the cross, there dying for our sins and transgressions. We should not suppose that, as the incarnate Deity, He was not touched with the sorrows and frustrations that we human beings experience. On the contrary, the Bible calls Him a man of sorrows.⁸ For me He was despised; for me He was humiliated. It was for me that "His sweat became like great drops of blood" when He prayed at Gethsemane.⁹ For me, a crown of thorns was crushed onto His head rather than a crown of glory. For me, nails pierced through His hands and feet and of me were His thoughts when He was hung on the cross to die. How immensely strong is the love that inspired such behavior. God the Creator not only stooped to the level of those whom He loved, but He suffered a shameful death for each one of us. He endured because He has a desire; He endured for the joy set before Him¹⁰, which is His Bride.

Our Desire
We can relate to God's desire because we have a reciprocal feeling. Human beings were created with a need to love and be loved. Whether we like to admit it or not, at a certain age something in us starts to scan the horizon for a possible match. From this time on, locating this match occupies a large part of our thoughts and imaginations. Our dreams are of that person who will perfectly match and complement us, someone who will listen to our trivial stories without being bored, someone who will laugh at our jokes, and most of all, someone who will think that we are the most desirable being ever to set foot on the earth. For most, these aspirations and feelings are quite hidden in the day-to-day routine of our lives. But we all know that they are there. No matter how happy we are, how successful we might be in our job, or what prospects the future holds, none of these can really fulfill our need for love. There is that deep sense of loneliness, a feeling of incompleteness, and a longing within us all to no longer live life alone. While we openly celebrate our independence, in secret we yearn for the satisfaction of coming home to someone, to our match, our counterpart. Finding this match no doubt provides a great deal of satisfaction. There is something in us that propels us to pour out our whole being on another person. There is also something in us that exacts so comprehensive a love from that same person, a love that reaches into the deep avenues of our being. But ultimately, we are finite, as is our capacity to love and to receive love. God is the only vessel capable of receiving the love we are inclined to pour out. Furthermore, His infinite love is the only love capable of penetrating the depths of our being. Human love should not be belittled, but at the same time, it can never fully satisfy us. There remains a desire that only God can satisfy. God's love never falls short; He is our perfect match.

So, we should open our heart to Him and receive Him. In his epistle to the believers, John writes "...God sent His only begotten Son into the world that we might have life and live through Him. Herein is love...that He loved us and sent His Son as a propitiation for our sins."¹¹ In dying for us, Jesus not only bore the sins for which we should have been responsible, but He also resurrected so that we could have His life. Because He loved us exceedingly, He went through these steps that He could enter into us as life and love. If we would only ask, the Lord Jesus, as a tide of love, would flow into our deepest part.

Mutual Satisfaction
God has a desire that only human beings can satisfy; human beings have a desire that only God can satisfy. As we contemplate the universe, we realize that we are infinitesimal in relation to our galaxy—which is, in turn, only one of billions of galaxies. Despite the vastness of the universe and the beauty of creation, it is in humankind that God delights. He stretched forth the heavens and laid the foundation of the earth because in eternity past, deep in the heart of God, lay a longing for a Bride. Under these heavens, He placed us to dwell. And it was under these same heavens that the Creator entered creation as a man. He reached us in a way that is personal and loving. Likewise, we can respond to Him lovingly. We can pour out our love on God, our Maker and our Husband. Our experience might be expressed by the words of the beloved in the Song of Songs, who says, "Draw me; we will run after you."¹² He draws us personally; together we run after Him. As the many lovers of Christ, running after Him, we are His Bride.

1 Romans 4:17 (back) 2 1 Chronicles 29:10-12 (back) 3 see Deuteronomy 10:15, 2 Samuel 22:20, 2 Chronicles 9:8, Matthew 17:5 (back) 4 see Psalm 147:11, Psalm 149:4, Ephesians 1:9 (back) 5 see 1 Timothy 2:4 (back) 6 Isaiah 54:5 (back) 7 1 John 4:8 (back) 8 Isaiah 53:3 (back) 9 Luke 22:44 (back) 10 Hebrews 12:2 (back) 11 1 John 4:9-10 (back) 12 Song of Songs 1:4

If you would like to know God and respond to His deep love, simply open your heart to Him and sincerely pray the following:

"Lord Jesus, thank You for loving me so much that you died for me. Thank You for saving me from my sins and forgiving me. Right now I respond to Your eternal love. I invite you to come in and make Your home in my heart. I want to live in the divine romance with You and in Your church. Lead me into this divine romance for the rest of my life."