Holy Water: A 12-Day Devotional by We The KingdomНамуна

You Are Heaven

“You have captured my heart, my treasure, my bride. You hold it hostage with one glance of your eyes, with a single jewel of your necklace.” - Song of Songs 4:9 

I have found that sometimes it is difficult to consider God as our Lover. We think of Him as the Holy One, the Father, the Creator, the Savior, even a Friend, closer than a brother. But I believe God deeply desires for us to understand how radically, relentless and recklessly that He loves us. 

Jesus came to Earth, took on all our filth and sin, and took it to the cross. He died so we don’t have to receive the punishment that was inevitable for us, because he was in love with us. 

Recently, I just married the love of my life, Austin Cain. We have a beautiful love story and I’m so in love with him. I have never gotten tired of him. I am so challenged and encouraged by all of our conversations, and I never laugh so hard or so often as when I’m with him. 

Austin and I are both broken lovers who often love out of our selfish hearts to get something in return, or to manipulate, or fill a void in our heart. We wish we didn’t but we are very imperfect and very much sinners. 

Jesus Christ is a perfect lover. He never gets tired of us, He loves spending time with us. He so incredibly, unselfishly embraced the cross because He knew that in dying, we would find living—with Him forever. 

Jesus loves us, not out of emptiness, but out of the fullness of His never-ending source of love. That never-ending source of love then spills over into our hearts, starts filling us and then running over and brimming over. 

“I feel like I’ve never been so high, like I’m never gonna die, You are Heaven.” This song “You Are Heaven” is about love. It’s about when I have been so intoxicated with God’s love that I feel more alive and vibrant than I ever have before. It’s about how the love of God in my life is paradise. 

On this side of heaven, there are not many moments when we feel this way in and out between the grind and pain of life. But because Jesus embraced pain, He embraced death., He embraced the gap that separated us from Him, we will never die. We will live forever with our Lover. That is Heaven.