The Honeymoon
Hi, I’m Joni Eareckson Tada and I love this song about God’s love for you and me. Sing it if you know it.
How deep the Father’s love for us
How vast beyond all measure.
That He should give His only Son
To make a wretch His treasure
How great the pain of searing loss
The Father turns His face away
As wounds which mar the Chosen One
Bring many sons to glory
Recently, I heard John Piper talking about that sort of love that Jesus has for us. And for his text, he used Isaiah Chapter 62, verse 5, “As the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you.” Now, think about that. Jesus loves you in the same way a bridegroom rejoices over his bride. When the Bible talks about God’s love toward us, it’s not like a reluctant judge showing kindness to a criminal that he finds despicable; no, it is like a brand-new husband showing affection to his beautiful bride. You know, sometimes we joke and we say about a marriage, “Oh, there you go, the honeymoon’s over.” Because everyone knows that a man and a woman cannot possibly sustain the passion and the level of intense affection that you feel during a honeymoon. Sooner or later—usually sooner—the bubble’s going to burst; feelings will be bruised. Husbands and wives will settle into a more realistic world—a world where there will be arguments and disappointments and conflicts between the two. But that is not how it is with God, at least from His side. He makes it clear that His joy over you is like a bridegroom over a bride. And He doesn’t mean it starts out that way and then fades.
No, Piper says that God is talking about honeymoon intensity and honeymoon pleasures and honeymoon energy and excitement and enthusiasm and enjoyment that lasts. God is trying to impress upon our hearts that when He rejoices over us with all His heart, well it’s a little like Jeremiah Chapter 32, “I will rejoice in doing them good with all my heart and with all my soul.” And then there’s Zephaniah Chapter 3, where it says, “The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness; He will quiet you by his love; He will exult over you with loud singing.” Oh friend, don’t you love it that the honeymoon never ends when it comes to Jesus and you—even in heaven?! God is infinite in power and wisdom and creativity so that there will be no boredom for the next trillion ages. There’s boredom on earth, isn’t there, between husbands and wives, sooner or later, but not with Jesus. The honeymoon never ends.
Just like this beautiful contemporary hymn says: How deep is God’s love for us, how vast beyond all measure, that He should give His only Son to make you and I (a wretch) to make us His treasure. So we will not boast in anything, No gifts, no power, no wisdom. But we will boast in Jesus Christ, His death and resurrection. Because what should we gain from His reward? We can’t give an answer. But this we know with all our hearts: His wounds have paid our ransom.
Oh friend, we’ve captured His heart. And may our hearts be captured with a honeymoon desire for Him.
Music: “How Deep the Father’s Love for Us” by Stuart Townend, © 1995 Thankyou Music
© Joni and Friends
