Becoming Beloved: Cultivating a Romance that is Out of This World

This week, the Muffitt RAs have been bringing all our residents together to teach them about what we're passionate about. Here's what I'm going to talk about tonight.

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Welcome to the final night of Becoming! Thank you for taking time out of your Friday night to learn more about my passion! This night will be about becoming beloved: cultivating a Romance that is out of this world.

When I was preparing for tonight, I asked a friend of mine what she thought of when she heard the word "romance." Instantaneously, she blurted, "Cake. Chocolate cake!" I'm not exactly sure what she meant by that, but she later corrected herself and breathed things like flowers, moonlit strolls, picnic lunches and googly things like that. As women, we automatically associate the word "romance" with something a man could do, right? I mean, that cake's gotta be made by somebody, right? To us women, something's not really considered romantic unless it is spurred on by a man. It would be entirely different if your best friend made you a cake, but if that special guy made it for you, oh man! That's romance, at least according to my friend. :)

We dream of being swept entirely off our feet by a noble prince. We fantasize about being rescued by a fanciful knight and shining armor. We long for a man to gallantly come and make our hearts beat fast. Our feminine hearts were created to long for such a romance, but we've twisted our desires to point at the world to fulfill them instead of to the One with whom such a Romance can be real.

But I'm not here to speak passionately about the kind of romance one partakes in with a man. Sure, maybe I'll get the chance to be romanced by a man and respond to his love someday, and it will be wonderful. I really, really look forward to it. But the Romance I'm talking about is far richer, far sweeter, and far more beautiful than any man could ever give. You see, I'm talking about a breathtaking, surprising, knock your socks off Romance with the Maker of both the freckles on a child's face and the entire universe and all its galaxies. The God I serve is more than my Maker. He is more than a Father and more than a Savior. He is the Heavenly Husband of my heart and the Gallant Romancer of my soul. He is my Bridegroom, and I am His beloved bride. Together, we share the sweetest, most beautiful love story that is far better than any human relationship ever could be. My passion is the Romance I share with my beautiful King. I am entirely swept off my feet and smitten by His love, and it is my desire for you to be lost in His love, too.

How is this kind of love possible? It starts by realizing who you are. This could be one of the hardest things you do in your entire life. It's not fun. And it's not easy, but it's completely necessary to cultivating a beautiful romance with Jesus Christ.

You are a sinner, worthy of hell. You do not deserve anything God is or offers. You are dirty, and anything good you do is like offering old rags to God. You are consumed with your self. BUT when you surrender your heart to the One who made it, empty EVERYTHING you are into His nail pierced hands, and choose to submit and obey His love and grace, you acknowledge that you are: nothing less than the beautiful bride of Christ. You are a child of the King, and royal blood runs through your veins. You are a literal princess, and you bring the God of everything joy! You are beautiful because of Christ's presence in you. You are nothing more than a dirty sinner but nothing less than the beautiful bride of Christ.

I figured out who I was when I was fifteen years old. I found my Heavenly Prince whispering to me, "You are a princess in title only. Now, I want to teach you how to live as My lily-white princess, how to live a life that is truly set apart for Me. There is so much for you to discover--there are boundless depths for you to explore!" I learned that my heart was to be a sacred sanctuary for the love between my Jesus and I to grow without hindrance. The next step in cultivating a Romance that is out of this world is to prove to Jesus that He is your only love.

Our hearts are SO full of junk. To be fully Christ's, you must clean out your sanctuary. Getting saved is like giving God the house of your heart. But in that house, there are lots and lots of rooms. Each room holds different hurts, past lovers, memories, idols, sin, passions, and things like that. When we surrender the entire contents of our heart to Jesus and invite Him to clean out His sanctuary, we tell Christ, "I am fully Yours, Lord. Everything I am is Yours." I will give you a resource later that guided me through this process.

After your heart is gutted of all the clutter that muddies up your sanctuary, you are going to feel very empty. You won't be able to cling to anything that you used to. So what do you do? In this time of great vulnerability, the only correct thing is to grab hold of two things: God's Word and prayer. Since at this point you are empty, you need to be filled. As you commune with your new Heavenly Lover through prayer and reading His beautifully scripted Love letter to you, it wouldn't surprise me if you felt Christ hotly and intentionally pursuing you and filling you. His love will surprise you because it will be so different and so rich and so pure. But it's real. You might catch yourself singing to Him sweetly, writing Him love letters, or going on walks with Him. As you grow in intimacy with Christ and as you allow Him to pursue you and love you, you will grow entirely smitten with Him. Call me crazy, but it's real. I mean, think about it in terms of a male and female relationship. If two people never talked or listened to each other, would they grow closer? Of course not!! Conversation is crucial, and it is no different with your relationship with Christ. You cannot have a Romance with the Maker of Romance if you do not speak to Him and if you do not let Him speak to you. It is absolutely necessary and cannot be omitted because of business or laziness. If you want a Romance with Christ, you will have to work for it just like you would any other relationship.

All while we search, ramp, and rant for love, our beautiful Bridegroom kneels in genuine proposal for our entire heart. Looking for love through a man of flesh is like dying of thirst and grabbing for salt as if it will quench your desire. Girls, we are thirsty for love, but looking for it in men will only leave us thirstier. Every single day, I wake up to the sweet, sweet song of my Bridegroom and the warmth of His smile even when the clouds cover the sky. I feel the Romance of His pursuit so heavily on my heart and at times, I can feel His tangible, pure embrace. Jesus is the type of Guy who will never forget your birthday. He knows your heart so thoroughly and despite your flaws, He smiles with great pride over you, His bride. Haven't you always wanted a guy who is both strong and sensitive--the type who will both fight for you and sing to you? Zephaniah 3:17 says God is a melodious and victorious Warrior. Jesus is everything we want and the complete satisfaction of a wild and fiery romance.

Now, I'm not saying all of this to convince you to drop out of school, enter a nunnery, and commit to lifelong celibacy. That calling is given to only a few. In fact, I’ve found that as I sink deeper and deeper into intimacy with Christ, my desire to give that love a way to a man only increases. I am, however, convinced that a wild and reckless Romance with the King of all is the best gift you could ever give a man some day. Would you like to be one of the few in every generation who moves past normalcy? Will you choose to find your fulfillment in Christ only? Will you dive heart first into a wild, adventurous Romance with Jesus Christ? He's on His knee waiting for your answer. I hope you say, "Yes." In the words of Bethany Dillon, “How can I resist a perfect Love like this? It’s like sunshine and the smell of spring. When I’m covered in Your forgiveness, God, it’s overwhelming. You have called me out of shadows, out of darkness into Light. Hemmed in by the hands of mercy, I’m completely satisfied.”