Today’s the big day. V Day ! ! !

We all love the happy sappy love stories. It’s what movies are made of. Our fav rom coms. The Notebook. The Vow. The Lucky One. Nicholas Sparks isn’t half bad at writing love stories. But the greatest love story ever written is far more meaningful than a Noah and Allie kind of love… I know that’s saying a lot, right? What could be better than such a beautiful story of faithfulness over so many years??? The answer: a story of utter infidelity.

A bride that was sought out and chased after, and yet chose to run back to the painful heartbreak of one night stands. She was loved perfectly but she rejected that love out of guilt from her past. She couldn’t erase what she had done, the filth she’d allowed to wallow up inside of her, so she chose to be the runaway bride. She humiliated her Suitor and cheapened His love by returning to the lesser womanizers and getting her temporary happiness from their empty words and meaningless intimacy.

She sacrificed her own body in efforts to find satisfaction but couldn’t keep any lasting joy. Only left with scars, hurt, and pain, feelings of brokenness and heartbreak defined her. She couldn’t accept love from Someone pure who would pursue her without hesitation and call her beautiful. She didn’t deserve that. She only deserved fake love. She didn’t deserve to be known deeply and loved actually. She couldn’t bear to enter into a marriage covenant with that kind of Person and bring all her junk and baggage. She couldn’t become one with Him when she had already been with so many others. The guilt overtook her and so she continued to go after temporary pleasures thinking she had no chance of anything more.

But her Groom didn’t leave her. He pursued her every time she ran. She couldn’t escape His love no matter how hard she tried. She could never build up a wall of guilt and shame so strong that He wouldn’t break through it. He never forced her to walk down the aisle and say “I do,” but He never left the altar. Instead, He sacrificed Himself on the altar, laying down His life for His bride.

The bride, finally understanding that her Groom was never going to leave her no matter what she did and didn’t require her to do anything for Him to earn His love, came down the aisle to Him. She fell at His feet, sobbing uncontrollably and uttered the words, “I do. I am Yours and You are forever mine.” Her Groom didn’t rebuke her for the long road it took her to get there. Instead, He said to her, “You are my beloved. I have loved you with an everlasting love. I will never leave you or forsake you. You can never outrun my love.”

He placed the ring on her finger and her name was changed. Moreover, her life was changed. She became one with her Groom. She experienced the fullness of joy in life with Him.

Yet, she had times where she would forget His love. She would make mistakes and then push Him away because of shame. And every time, He would stay true to her and go find her in her mess to bring her back. He wouldn’t allow her to be stuck in shame but would remind her of her true identity. She just couldn’t wrap her mind around it. Why did He love her so? Why did He desire her love? Because He IS love. That’s who He is. 

That bride is the church. It’s me. I run and run and run from Jesus to other things I think will fill me. I live in the world, clinging to so many material things that can never satisfy. But the Groom, my patient Savior, calls me to Himself. He is faithful and constant in my wandering. His character never changes. As I pursue the world and everything in it, He pursues me. As I settle time and time again for lesser, filthy, temporary things, He offers me the best thing – Himself.

I grabbed a hold of Him some time ago and my whole life was changed. But to be honest sometimes I forget the love He’s shown me and go back to other things. But He won’t sign the divorce papers, people! His love for me doesn’t depend on my actions. It’s dependent on His character. And He IS love. The more broken I am, the more I understand the love with which I’ve been loved. Christ’s bride doesn’t just get a name-change. We get a life change and an eternity change. That’s the gospel. It’s available to you. All ya gotta do is Romans 10:9-10. U don’t gotta b single no more.

Thnx 4 reading my fav V-Day story – double meaning bc love and sweet victory, am i right?

Until next time,

Swhite