I came across this message from Francis Frangipane while reading a pamphlet at a friend’s home. I kept pondering several quotes from it, that I would go back and reread them. There will be three parts to the message, but I feel each will draw you more into seeking God.
There Remains A Sense Of Distance
The Bible describes our relationship with the Christ in strong symbolic pictures of oneness: He is Head of a body, Husband of a wife, God in His temple. In spite of these powerful metaphors, there remains a sense of distance between the Presence of the Lord and ourselves. This distance is a test. Our call is to possess that love of God which reaches even into eternity and brings the glory and Person of Christ into His earthly House.
“God has looked down from heaven upon the sons of men, to see if there is anyone who understands, who seeks after God” (Psalm 53:2). We simply must have more of Jesus. In the face of increasing wickedness in the world, our programs and ideas have failed. We need God. Those who understand the hour we face are seeking Him. The wise know that Christ Himself is our only strategy and hope.
If just one soul in a city truly attains the hope of this chapter, that individual will change their world.
Those Who Seek After God
True understanding comes from seeking the Lord. Thus, we will explore the Song of Solomon 3:1-4, for here we find a bride and bridegroom who both are intolerant of the distance between them. The bride in the passage symbolizes the church in her deepest longings for Jesus; the Bridegroom symbolizes Christ. We will start with the third chapter; the bride is speaking.
True seeking of God is born out of love.
“On my bed night after night I sought him whom my soul loves….” True seeking of God is born out of love. Our quest for God is not a matter of discipline, but of desire. It is not a question of sacrifice, but of undistracted love. Your sleep is gone because your beloved is gone. You must seek Him, for such is the nature of love.
Some will say, “But I already know the Lord. I have found Him.” In truth, it was He who found us. Our salvation rests securely upon this fact. But while many are resting upon Christ’s finding us, His bride arises now to find Him. The bride seeks to be with Jesus to “find” deep and intimate fellowship with Him. In the very love which He inspired, she arises to find Him.
In the very love which He inspired, [the bride] pursues her beloved.
There Is Still More
Oh, we must see that there is yet much more to learn and discover concerning our Lord. At the end of Moses’ life, after being used by God to confront and defeat the gods of Egypt, after dwelling in the Lord’s glory for forty years, Moses prays, “Thou hast begun to show Thy servant Thy greatness and Thy strong hand” (Deuteronomy 3:24). For all we think we know, we have seen but a thimbleful of His glory. The apostle Paul wrote, “As many as are perfect have this attitude” (Philippians 3:15). To seek and know Christ is the attitude of the mature; it is the singular obsession of Christ’s bride.
In this maturation process, there will come a point when, within your heart, love for God will take ascendancy over mere intellectual or doctrinal understanding. The bride of Christ cannot contain her longing nor patronize her aching heart by saying, “I will feel better in the morning.” There is simply no reconciling the passion of her soul with the absence of her beloved.
There will come a point when love for God will take ascendancy over mere intellectual or doctrinal understanding.
This is the first part of the Unrelenting Love message by Francis Frangipane. Here are the other two messages:
Pingback: Finding Jesus - prayer coach
Pingback: Clinging to Jesus - prayer coach