Tuesday, March 4, 2014

Intimacy 101 (I come to the garden alone)

"Stay here, the Lord has sent me to Bethel." 2Ki 2:4,4,6

2 Kings begin with Elijah leaving the field and Elisha taking over the ministry. 

As the day of his departure drew near, Elijah said to his associate Elisha, "Stay here, the Lord has sent me to [this place or that place], and he did it three times. (2:2,4,6)

Why did he do this? The answer is obvious: he needed QT with the Lord. This in turn tells us the nature of the Christian walk in the Lord, the intimate aspect of it, which demands freedom from intrusion or disturbance. 

Once Henry David Thoreau said, "The finest qualities of our nature, like the bloom ---on fruits, can be preserved only by delicate handling. Yet we do not treat ourselves nor one another thus tenderly." He stresses the relationship with one another ought to be treated with tender care. 

In a cartoon Robin-hood took his lover into a quite forest garden, then to a water fall, and  then to a cave behind the water fall. There he had a sweet moment. The two whispered, and then there was a kiss. 

Song of Solomon expressed the spiritual intimacy of the Lord with his bride, and his bride with him saying, "Let my lover come into his garden and taste its choice fruits." 4:16 Or "I have come into my garden, my sister, my bride; I have gathered my myrrh with my spice. I have eaten my honeycomb and my honey; I have drunk my wine and my milk." 5:1 (Choice fruits include joy of salvation, deep sense of relief and release, peace rolling like a river, etc.) 

Speaking of the same truth on the intimate nature of the Christian walk in the Lord, towards the end of his life here on earth, our Lord Jesus said to his disciples, "Stay here and keep watch." Then he went 'a little farther', fell to the ground and prayed. Mark 14:34,35
Why did he say, "Stay here"? Why did he go 'a little farther'? Why did he fall 'to the ground'? A little more 'intimacy' with the Father,  in time of uttermost disturbance! 

In another place Jesus said, "When you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you." Matthew 6:6

Thus, the lyrics of the song, "I come to the garden alone" goes: 


I come to the garden alone 
While the dew is still on the roses 
And the voice I hear falling on my ear 
The Son of God discloses. 

Refrain: 
And He walks with me, and He talks with me, 
And He tells me I am His own; 
And the joy we share as we tarry there, 
None other has ever known. 

He speaks, and the sound of His voice, 
Is so sweet the birds hush their singing, 
And the melody that He gave to me 
Within my heart is ringing. 

Refrain: 
And He walks with me, and He talks with me, 
And He tells me I am His own; 
And the joy we share as we tarry there, 
None other has ever known. 

I'd stay in the garden with Him 
Though the night around me be falling, 
But He bids me go; through the voice of woe 
His voice to me is calling. 

Refrain: 
And He walks with me, and He talks with me, 
And He tells me I am His own; 
And the joy we share as we tarry there, 
None other has ever known.

No comments: