"I Have Gathered My Myrrh With My Spice"

"I am come into my garden, my sister, my spouse: I have gathered my myrrh with my spice, I have eaten my honeycomb with my honey: I have drunk my wine with my milk: eat, O friends; drink, yea, drink abundantly, O beloved." (S.O.S. 5:1) 

  It's a bitter-sweet romance, to say the least; but if anyone ever could, it is He! As we imagine what it might take, I seriously doubt any of us could see ourselves doing what Jesus did; not without some sort of a fight! Growing up, I was taught that Jesus was not sinless; being told how it was a sin for Him to loose His temper by turning over tables and chasing the vendors out of the Temple, not once, but twice; as the story seems to go. What was the point in that? And why was He so justified in doing what He did? 

  I can only hope that some of those who talked in such a way had changed their point of view before they took their final breath; because to cheapen the power of God's love and mercy, is nothing short of pure wickedness! To say that they did what they did from ignorance, I think that is more than kindness; to set out and make something up, even though you know the truth, the only ignorance there is thinking you have a right to do such an evil thing, at all! In other words, the ignorance is in the way we might think God does not care, or that He is not looking; or worse yet, that we can do what we want without suffering some sort of consequence for our actions. 

  Here is another little piece of the parable about the "talents," other than time, other than effort, other than results: it is more about caring! What do you do with what you have been given, and how do you respect what it? As it is, whatever you have, it can be taken away; without warning, and within seconds, you can find yourself empty handed and alone. Now, imagine what it might feel like to place yourself, willingly, into that position: Would you do it? If you had the power to not, what would you do? 

  What if, if it might be, those talents were something all together different; say like, acts of kindness or self-sacrifice; or better yet, the chance to stand up for what you believe! That is pretty much the just of it, just in case you were looking for how it all plays out. Ignorance is no excuse for not trying...

"What shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, sword? As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter." (Romans 8:35-36)