Unconquered Territory (1)

Cast cords of love around my heart, then hold me and never let me go.

May the Saviour’s wounds sway me more than the scepter of princes.

Let me love thee in a love that covers and swallows up all,

That I may not violate my chaste union with the beloved;

There is much unconquered territory in my nature,

Scourge out the buyers and sellers of my soul’s temple,

And give me in return, pure desires,

And longing after perfect holiness.  

The Valley of Vision, edited by Arthur Bennett, Banner of Truth, page 345.

The above excerpt evokes many Biblical images and paradigms. I’m reminded of Psalm 139:23 - 24: “Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me, and know my anxieties; and see if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”

Then there is Psalm 19:12 - 14: “Who can understand his errors? Cleanse me from secret faults. Keep back Your servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me. Then I shall be blameless, and I shall be innocent of great transgression. Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O LORD, my strength and my Redeemer.”

Only God truly knows us, we can only see ourselves as God gives us light and grace; thankfully He is merciful in how He reveals Himself to us and how He shows us who we are - both within Him and without Him; I do not think we are capable of seeing just who we are in our "unnatural" state of sin - it is too hideous to be revealed in its fullness - so He shows us enough for us to know that we desperately need Him...which is also enough for us to choose to love the hideous and reject Him in favor of ourselves. There is enough light for those to see who desire to see, and there is enough darkness for those to live in darkness who want to run and hide from the light. As an old adage goes, the same sun that melts the wax hardens the clay.

Cast cords of love around my heart, then hold me and never let me go. The Gospel is about the love of God, a love with form and substance. God desires us to be captivated by His love for us in Christ, to be bound to Him in love. His love for us is so great that it is the very same love with which He loves His Son (John 17), we need not fear this love, we need not hesitate to accept it, we should not think that such love cannot possibly be true, and we should not push God’s love away - God wants us to experience His amazing love and He wants to draw us into a deeply intimate relationship with Jesus Christ and with each other in Christ. When we come into a relationship with Jesus Christ God’s love is “poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit” (Romans 5:5). It is good to remember everyday of our lives that “God is love” (1 John 4:8).

“Holy Father, teach us to accept and to trust Your love for us in Jesus Christ. Help us to trust You when You, in Your kind mercy, show us things within ourselves that we need to confess and to repent; help us to seek Your empowering grace that we might be more like Jesus today than we were yesterday. Envelop us in Your love, and may Your love flow through us to others and may we love You with all that we have and all that we are.”