Suppose then a king who loved a humble maiden. The heart of the king was not polluted by the wisdom that is loudly enough proclaimed; he knew nothing of the difficulties that the understanding discovers in order to ensnare the heart, which keep the poets so busy, and make their magic formulas necessary.
It was easy to realise his purpose. Every statesman feared his wrath and dared not breathe a word of displeasure; every foreign state trembled before his power, and dared not omit sending ambassadors with congratulations for the nuptials; no courtier grovelling in the dust dared wound him, lest his own head be crushed.
Then let the harp be tuned, let the songs of the poets begin to sound, and let all be festive while love celebrates its triumph. For love is exultant when it unites equals, but it is triumphant when it makes that which was unequal equal in love.
Then there awoke in the heart of the king an anxious thought; who but a king who thinks kingly thoughts would have dreamed of it! He spoke to no one about his anxiety; for if he had, each courtier would doubtless have said: "Your majesty is about to confer a favour upon the maiden, for which she can never be sufficiently grateful her whole life long."
This speech would have moved the king to wrath, so that he would have commanded the execution of the courtier for high treason against the beloved, and thus he would in still another way have found his grief increased.
So he wrestled with his troubled thoughts alone. Would she be happy in the life at his side? Would she be able to summon confidence enough never to remember what the king wished only to forget, that he was king and she had been a humble maiden?
For if this memory were to waken in her soul, and like a favoured lover sometimes steal her thoughts away from the king, luring her reflections into the seclusion of a secret grief; or if this memory sometimes passed through her soul like the shadow of death over the grave: where would then be the glory of their love?
- Søren Kierkegaard, Parables of Kierkegaard
Wrestling with God
The king wanted true love, but how could he be sure that her love for him would be real?
He could bring her to the palace, covering her with silk and jewels in an effort to coax her affection. But this would be a purchased heart.
He could come to her cottage, casting a shadow of glory and power over its humble surroundings, driving her to her knees in awe and wonder. But that would be an overpowered heart.
No, neither elevation of her or himself would achieve the desired end - only his own descent. The king became a humble servant and sought to win her heart.
- James Emery White, Wrestling with God
"The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth." - John 1:14 (NIV)
"For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich." - 2 Corinthians 8:9 (NIV)
"Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless." - Ephesians 5:25-27 (NIV)
Incidentally, I'm reading the Bible in one year and the Wisdom reading for December 14 is Proverbs 30:11-23.
"There are three things that are too amazing for me, four that I do not understand: the way of an eagle in the sky, the way of a snake on a rock, the way of a ship on the high seas, and the way of a man with a maiden." - Proverbs 30:18-19 (NIV)
Interestingly, the author groups 'the way of a man with a maiden' together with 'the way of an eagle in the sky', 'the way of a snake on a rock' and 'the way of a ship on the high seas'. What do they have in common?
In the air, an eagle has no right to defy gravity and avoid falling. But by God's grace, it does! On the land, a snake (having no legs) has no right to make its way on a rock. But by God's grace, it does! On the sea, a ship has no right to defy gravity and avoid sinking. But by God's grace, it does!
Above all, a man has no right to win the heart of a maiden. But by God's grace, he does! In the first place, it is God who says, 'it is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him' (Genesis 2:18, NIV).
If we cannot fully comprehend the way of a man with a maiden, how much more can we not fully comprehend the way of Christ with the church!
"In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. After all, no one ever hated his own body, but he feeds and cares for it, just as Christ does the church - for we are members of his body. "For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh." This is a profound mystery - but I am talking about Christ and the church." - Ephesians 5:28-32 (NIV)
Indeed, our union with Christ - in Whom 'we might become the righteousness of God' (2 Corinthians 5:21, NIV) - is a profound mystery. But it is also a profound reality!
Veiled in flesh the Godhead see
Hail the incarnate deity
Pleased as man with man to dwell
Jesus our Emmanuel
Hark the herald angels sing!
Glory to the newborn king!
Link: The Covenant of Marriage (19 Dec 09)
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