Day 176, Year 1

God Waits for Us to Awaken Love for Him

“I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem, By the gazelles or by the does of the field, Do not stir up nor awaken love until it pleases.” (Song of Solomon 3:5 NKJV)

Out of His love and gentleness, Jesus Christ knocks on people’s doors of hearts, waiting for us to open our doors for His entrance.  Anyone who has read the Gospels knows that Jesus could enter a place with the doors unopened after His resurrection (John 20:19, 26). Similarly, He can directly enter our lives without knocking, simply by manifesting Himself inside us. Although Jesus has the power to do so, He rarely forcefully enters into the lives of humans. He respects us so much that He gives everyone the power to reject Him.

Jesus longs for us to open the doors for Him out of love. As today’s verse goes, “Do not stir up nor awaken love until it pleases.” There can be flirting between men and women. Similarly, love for the Lord Jesus can also be stirred up. However, Jesus is still waiting patiently for us to open our doors for Him willingly. He does not wish to use any sensational or exaggerated ways to attract people to believe in Him. In church history, Jesus seldom uses the approach of “stirring up love” in people’s hearts for Him. If some people welcome Him because of sensationalism, then after the sensationalism fades, they will welcome Him no more. Similarly, people can use charm and sexual attraction to attract the opposite sex, but when the charm fades and the passion subsides, love always ends as well. Hence, Jesus waits day after day for people to love Him spontaneously, to open the doors for Him willingly, not for any reason, but solely because of realizing who He is.

This verse reminds anxious people, who are like the “gazelles or does of the field,” not to be stirred up. Gazelles and does are often swift-moving and sensitive. In my opinion, our love for Jesus should be a steady current, rather than a momentary passion. On the journey of loving God, those who are centered on their personal feelings will find it difficult to have a lasting faith in Jesus, because He will sometimes challenge our faith by presenting His blessings disguised as various forms of suffering to us. Likewise, Jesus can sometimes make people feel uncomfortable. At such times, those who center their lives on so-called feeling good often turn back and discard Him. In sum, when Christians, following God’s guidance, invite nonbelievers around us to believe in Him or pray for them, we should not stir up their love for Him, but wait for it to arise spontaneously, so that they will welcome Him and love Him forever.

Reflection questions:

1) For what reasons do you think that the Lord Jesus respects people’s will or initiative to love Him so much?

2) Do you think that your love toward the Lord Jesus is spontaneous and constant, as you put aside your personal feelings? Why?