A friend recently tweeted something so simple, and yet so profound. He is jealous for ME. The more I thought about it, the more valuable and precious I felt. God is jealous for ME. He wants my love and attention, time and affection. He wants to KNOW by my actions, by how I spend my money and by how I treat others, that I have His agenda and best interest in mind. I felt like a young woman being asked on a date by her ideal man. Instantly, I’d been given flowers, and candy, and jewels and cards filled with sweet words of adoration. We are called and encouraged to adore Him; He chooses to and desires to adore us. Not the worshipful kind of adoration, the “I’m so in love with you” adoration.
In the middle of my romance, I remembered something that made me want to weep.I remembered once hearing Oprah speak about why she is more “open-minded” and “universal” in her Christianity than she used to be. She said that she was at church one day and the pastor taught on God being a jealous God. She realized that this jealous God could never be the god she chose to worship. Because this God was a flawed God. Jealousy, after all is a flaw. It was at this point that she embraced the idea that there were many ways to the Divine. God held out a gift to her. The gift of head over heels, crazy love..a passionate love that proved itself through death in order to save her life. She, at least for the moment, rejected it, for her own idea.
So, the same thought, God being jealous for me, brought me joy and her pain. The idea that God is jealous of things that steal my time from Him makes me want to put on a long flowing skirt and twirl. He cares for ME. He longs for all of my attention, and counts anything that distracts from Him as something He is jealous over. He is the lover of my soul.
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So beautiful! “The idea that God is jealous of things that steal my time from Him makes me want to put on a long flowing skirt and twirl.” This made me smile as I read it! We are so free to love God and to be loved and cherished by Him. An absolutely wonderful image. Thank you so much. 🙂
I’m glad I made you smile. Now to make Him smile…
Thanks so much for the reminder Kimmie. Indeed the passionate lover of our soul. Apparently, Oprah was / is confused as to the depth of love behind His “jealousy”. Silly woman…
I don’t know why, but your response reminds me of the Trix Are For Kids commercial…silly rabbit.
Oh, I love this. 🙂 It is this jealousy that has taught me how I was intended to be loved. And I so love that He loves us/ME like that! Everything my heart could ever desire is in Him. And He’ll never disappoint. 🙂
That’s right Nikki, He never does disappoint. He is the perfect suitor.
I like your interpretation of God’s jealousy. I think it also has to do with God’s righteous abhorrence idol worship. I wonder if Oprah made this decision to reject the God of the Bible after much serious thought and word study to make sure she truly made her best effort to understand the Biblical meaning of the passage? It doesn’t sound like it. It sounds like she made a quick decision based on her 21st century (or 20th century) understanding of the word as used in a human context. But I could be wrong.
Your right Carol. I wonder how many idols I’ve made in my life, that He’s jealous of?
Just shows how quickly and easily one can be deceived, doesn’t it? In an instant, her eyes and heart were blinded because of a lie, not being able to perceive Divine jealousy.
Yes, and except for the grace of God that could be me. I’m sure that there are plenty of areas I’m deceived in.
I have to agree with Carol Apple, I think that the concept of human jealousy blinds some people to the divine meaning. It’s a pity Oprah made such a poorly thought out decision, with so many people seeing her as some kind of leader.
I am thankful for Christian leaders to soundboard with. It is always a safety to have a respected mind to bounce ideas off of. The thing that saddened me about this idea, is that it seems like it could be easily dispelled.
I love the song you posted here and I agree with the positive definition of jealousy as it relates to God.
Thanks Jen!
You are always so kind with your words and to stop by. Thanks for your hard blogging work.
I remember hearing Oprah saying that and knowing that she missed it. She missed that since God is perfect and that He is what brings us ultimate joy, He has to be jealous for us because He wants what is best for us. As Piper says, “I am most satisfied in Him, when He is most glorified in me.”
Great post. 🙂
Thanks Cheryl! I find beauty in his jealousy…thanks for the Piper quote too!
I love your post today! Yes, Oprah’s dilemma is my delight, too. Thank you for writing your thoughts. I enjoyed the video, too. Praises to our passionate God! Blessings to you…
Thanks Carol! He is so good.
Oh that is one of my favs and I blast it through our home!! You got it right on and I love how you explained the passion of our God for his creation.
I love Jesus Culture, they have real passion for our Lord.
I am reading THE GIFT OF FAITH by Father Tadeusz Dajczer. He addresses God’s jealousy and also the gift of humor. Perhaps Ohpra’s pastor had a difficult time conveying the concept. Or maybe Ophra’s mind wandered ever-so-slightly and she attached her own negative charge to the word “jealous.”
At any rate, I believe that all peoples and all religions are called to search for the one true God. It is a yearning as strong as the desire to be loved.
It is in every human to be loved, and then to find you are loved by God! Wow! What a dream come true! Jealousy can be ugly, but in a love affair, jealousy means passion. Not a yucky jealousy, but a “I’ll never get enough of you” jealousy…
The problem is our filter. When we think of the attributes of God, we filter them through our own experience. We say God is love and God is jealous but we filter them through how we love and our own jealousy.
God is perfect, so His jealousy is perfect. He isn’t jealous because He’s insecure and afraid to lose our affections. He is jealous to protect the “honor” of the ones He loves. He’s not afraid for Himself, He’s protecting us.
You are so right. We are restricted by our idea of who God is. I wrote something the other day that fits in with this idea, “God is not good because He fits my definition of good, but because He said He is. His character defines goodness. He. Is. Good.” Wow! I just quoted myself..hehe
I love the knowledge that God loves me with a “jealous” love. I have been so disappointed and saddened about Oprah’s shift in religious views. I hope that she will come to the Truth one day. I think that she is basically a caring, good person who is very confused.
It’s always sad to see someone deceived, isn’t it? Thanks for coming by!
what a thought?! Overwhelms me every. time. I don’t think I will ever fully understand His love for me, but oh for that day when I will no longer see but a poor reflection as in a mirror…but shall see and KNOW face to face…then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known! (1 Cor. 13:12)
Sweet Erika,
Thanks for your lovely comment. Even more, thanks for your beautiful daily prayers for our husbands. I LOVE them!!!
I like that phrase, “God is the lover of my soul.” God’s jealousy is a good thing and I’m thankful for it.
Me too. I am worthy of the pursuit of God. Wow!
I love that version of the song you posted by Kim Walker. It was extremely powerful to me during some rough stretches. I’m glad God’s jealous.
Clay!! I was just tweeting a thanks about your work at the Creation Music Festival. You are so fun, and your influence is very easy to chew…God’s doing great things through you. It’s an honor to have you here!
Oh, this song always brings me to tears. I’m with you. I want a God who will comb the depths for me. And for you. His jealousy is not like that of man’s. Such a lovely post. I’ll be humming this tune all night!