That We Could Be So Desired
07/29/14 
Danny Han
Fuller Theological Seminary (D.Min.)
The Senior Pastor of the Joy Christian Fellowship
Ah, I hear my lover coming!
He is leaping over the mountains,
bounding over the hills.
My lover is like a swift gazelle
or a young stag.
Look, there he is behind the wall,
looking through the window,
peering into the room.
My lover said to me,
"Rise up, my darling!
Come away with me, my fair one!
Look, the winter is past,
and the rains are over and gone.
The flowers are springing up,
the season of singing birds[e] has come,
and the cooing of turtledoves fills the air.
The fig trees are forming young fruit,
and the fragrant grapevines are blossoming.
Rise up, my darling!
Come away with me, my fair one!"
My dove is hiding behind the rocks,
behind an outcrop on the cliff.
Let me see your face;
let me hear your voice.
For your voice is pleasant,
and your face is lovely.
(Song of Songs 2:8-14)
Lizzie Velasquez is 24 years old. She has a rare medical condition shared by only two other people in the world that disables her to gain weight. She has never weighed more than 64 pounds. She is blind in one eye and has a limited vision in the other.
When she was in high school, she found herself in a youtube video. It was titled "The Worlds Ugliest Woman." The video ran for 8 seconds, was silent and had just a picture of her face. It had more than 4 million hits. People put nasty comments on the video. One told her to do the world a favor and put a gun on her head and kill herself. People can be truly horrible.
Instead of killing herself, Lizzie went the opposite direction. She chose to turn her condition into her calling and decided to become a motivational speaker. She went on to graduate from college, and published two books. Last December she was invited as a speaker at the prestigious TED Talk, where the ticket price is $4,400, and by invitation alone.
Lizzie had help. The greatest help was her parents. Devout Catholics, they loved her unconditionally and instilled in her GodЎs view of beauty, that God sees the inner beauty, not the external beauty. ThatЎs what her motivational talk is about.
Many people feel ugly. We feel undesired and undesirable. A few years ago Christina Aguilera sang, "I am beautiful," but even as she belted out the song, you could hear the sadness in her voice. She does not feel beautiful.
You may know what sexting is. It is people sending nude photos of themselves via cell phone. Sexting has increased dramatically in recent years. According to a research, in 201224% of high school girls, ages 13-18, have sexted. They have sent nude photos of themselves to their boyfriends, or boys they have crush on, or even to complete strangers. In college age, 18-22, the percentage goes up to 33%.Why would people do that?
At the core they do it because they have the fundamental human desire to be desired. We all want to be wanted.
When Playboy first started women disrobed themselves to get money. They knew they were selling their dignity for easy money. Nowadays when Playboy comes to college, they donЎt have to convince the girls. College girls line up. What women once did out of shame to make money is now become a prestige. When their photos show up in the magazine, it is the proof they are desirable.
The pressure to be desirable continues to increase and intensify. But the result will be the opposite: more and more people will feel undesirable.
Do you feel undesirable?
God says, "I desire you." The Prince of the universe, the Son of God, Jesus Christ, declares His love for you. But you may say, "I donЎt want to be desired by God. I want to be desired by a man/woman."
Do you value the fickle human love more than the eternal passion of the Son of God? Consider again. All human love will disappoint you. Only the unconditional, passionate, pursuing love of Christ will satisfy our heart, and that is what your heart is longing for.
Look at todays passage. The woman hears his lover (Jesus Christ) coming to her. He is so excited to see her. He leaps over the mountains, bounds over the hills. He is like a gazelle. This is a picture of excitement. Have you ever been desired so passionately?
My wife and I got engaged before our first date. It is a very long and dramatic story how we married each other, but unfortunately I do not have the time to share it here. The way it happened, I did not have to pursue her.
If you are a man, you may think I was lucky. Not so. Julie was so dissatisfied with the fact that I did not pursue her she made me pursue her for 20 years after we got married! We all want to be pursued. We all desire to be desired.
The Son of God pursues after you. He bounds over the hills and leaps over the mountains for you. Do you doubt that God desires you? Do you wonder if you are desirable? Look at Jesus hanging on the cross. He desired you so he pursued you to the cross. He desired you so much that He gave His life for you. The cross is the permanent display of ChristЎs passion for you.
Now look at the passage further. The lover has arrived at her place. But the door is locked. The window is closed. The woman does not come out. The lover stands behind a wall. He gazes through the windows.
And he woos her: "Rise up, darling! Come away with me, my beautiful one! The winter is past. The spring is here. The cold, rainy winter is over. Flowers are springing up. Birds are singing. The cooing of turtledoves fills the air. Rise up, darling! Come away with me, my beautiful one."
Christ pursues you. He woos you. Some people think that God is not interested in them. They think pursue a disinterested God. They are praying, reading the Bible and trying to please God, but they feel God is distant. God just doe not seem interested in them.
If that is you, you could not be more mistaken. Christ crossed the galaxies to pursue you. He has crossed the chasm that separates the Creator from the creation and took on the form of a human being. Moreover, He crossed the infinite chasm of sin and absolute holiness, which is Him, and went to the cross. Is God not interested in you? He is so interested in you. God is far more passionately interested in us than we will ever be interested in Him.
If you have some sin you struggle against-maybe you are fighting against some addiction-you may think, "God cannot be interested in me. I still struggle with sin." One thing we have to know: God is different from what we think. Do not paint a picture of God to reflect the human nature and make God mean, harsh and impatient. God is radically different from us. God is kinder, more patient and happier than we think. (This is why we should read the Bible to really learn what God is like.)
A woman came to a pastor claiming to have a prophetic gift. She said she had a word from the Lord for the pastor. When a person tells a pastor that he/she has a word for him/her, it is always a bit disturbing. The pastor replied, "Ask God what the last sin I confessed is. If you can get that right, you can give me the word of the Lord." The woman came back after a week and said God had spoken. The pastor asked what the last sin He confessed God was. She replied, "God said, I dont remember."
That is funny, but it is also true. God does not remember. He forgives our sins when you confess and erases it from his memory. He drops our sins in the deepest ocean and puts up a sign, ЎNo fishing allowed.Ў He removes our sins as far as east is from the west, that is, infinite distance. What about the sins you continually fall into, your addictions? Jesus commanded us to forgive others 70x7. Do you think He will demand any less from Himself?
When it comes to sin, look at the Lord, instead of yourself.
Of course, do not take grace as a license to sin. Overcome your sins-join rehab or have accountability-because the devil will drag you to the ground and kick you with guilt to keep you on the ground, and make you doubt GodЎs love for you. Run to God and overcome sin.
Another misunderstanding people have of God is that some earnest Christians think God is interested in what they do for God, not in who they are.
Christ desires you, more than your work. Notice how unproductive this couple is in the passage. The lover does not say to the woman, "Come out of bed because we have so much work to do. We have build a house. We have build a bridge, etc." Listen to what he says to the woman, "Come out. Play with me. Lets go to the mountains and see the flowers that are blooming. LetЎs listen to the birds singing. I just want to be with you, look in your eyes and enjoy you." He wants to waste time with her.
Jesus is more interested in romance than labor. Jesus did not die on the cross to get a maid. He died for a bride. The essence of Christian life is not work but romance. The essence of life itself is not duty; it is desire and delight.
Romance over Work
The purpose of life is to enjoy God. Of course, there will be times when we have to endure and just do the hard labor. But that is not the essence, or the goal.
The essence of life is to enjoy God, first by receiving His love for us.
I believe God calls us to His work so that we have a deeper relationship with Him. As we do what He does, we understand him at a deeper level. This happens even in suffering. Lets say you have a handicapped child. Having a handicapped child is very difficult for the parents, and the challenge does not end! But in the process they understand how much Christ loves them more than parents with easy children. They realize that we are ALL flawed children, but perfectly loved by our Father.
So, Jesus Christ pursues us and woos us. But look at the last scene here: the woman is still hiding from the lover, as the lover stands behind the closed door, wooing her. Is Christ not interested in us? He is so passionately after us. But we are not opening up our hearts. This is the picture of our lives.
Some of us do not open up our hearts out of fear. Others are distracted: Jesus woos at your heart, but you have your TV turned loudly on, or looking at shopping catalogues. Turn them off and listen to Christ. He is wooing you right now, ЎCome away with me. LetЎs go to the mountains see the flowers, with me. LetЎs listen to the birds sing. Let me look into your eyes and love you.
Open your heart to Christ wooing you. Go away with Him.
More important is romancing with him than being productive. Do not fill up all the empty hours of your life. Be silent and wait on God. Meditate on Him. Go to the mountains or forests. Watch and be silent. Seek him in silence in a quiet place. Ask for the Spirit of Revelation so you can know His love for you more.
If you are married, rekindle your romance. Life is more than works and children. Rekindle your romance. Do the things you did at first when you dated. Maybe you are in hiding. Something happened and you do not open up your emotion to your spouse. Confess your need for romance to your spouse. Do not be ashamed. There is power in weakness. As we grow old, love must not grow old. It matures. But know in the end we can find satisfaction only in ChristЎs passion for us.
Ask the following questions:
- On the scale of 0-10, how desirable do you feel?
- On the scale of 0-10, how much do you feel Jesus desires you?
Know that Christ desires you at 10.
How do you know? You know by the cross. - What do you value more in your relationship with God: work or romance?
- God makes it clear that He created us for romance with Him. What are some practical things that have helped you to grow in intimacy with Christ?
- What one thing can you begin to do to grow in romance with Christ?