"You have stolen my heart, my sister, my bride; you have stolen my heart with one glance of your eyes, with one jewel of your necklace." (Song 4:9)
Why do I believe what I believe? It can be summed up in one word --"relationship." It's not about slavishly following a long list of authoritarian rules, lest I anger God. It's all about knowing Him personally and wanting to please Him. The religious leaders in Jesus' day firmly claimed to know God, but killed Jesus when He came to rescue mankind. Jesus unsympathetically rebuked them for their hard hearts and blatant, unrepentant hypocrisy. When we know Jesus in a personal way, we can't help but love and desire Him. In turn we will try to obey Him because we know He has our very best interests in mind.
My dad has also been a real inspiration to me. He has great integrity, and I have never in all my years heard him tell a lie. He's always been honest with me even when it hurt. I have always noticed His deep desire to really know Jesus as a friend, not merely as some historical figure. It stems from when he was fifteen years old. Let me explain.
Dad lived on the ocean in Maine. His family came from a long line of Canadian commercial fishermen. My grandmother was a deeply dedicated Christian lady who was a Minister with my Grandpa. She was a pastor, a Bible school professor, an inner city relief worker reaching out to the "destitute and needy"--the "down and out." It was said of my grandmother that she never said an unkind word about anyone. I loved her so much.
One night, at age fifteen, my dad went to bed in his room. He was pondering what he should do with his life. He was wide-awake and not sleeping, when Jesus walked into his room and stood at the foot of his bed. He opened His hands to my dad, so that the nail prints were clearly evident. My dad said he had never seen such great love before. The eyes of Jesus moved Him to tears.
Transformed Forever
At that moment Dad was transformed forever. He cried all night after that because Jesus loved him so much. The eyes of Jesus told the true story; no one would be able to tell Him otherwise. He had a personal visitation from a personal Savior. Just as the early disciples dropped what they were doing to follow Jesus by reason of "one gaze from His eyes," after one look my dad knew what he was "called" to do. Most people do not have such awe-inspiring encounters with their physical eyes. My dad was incredibly blessed by that life-changing incident.
Turn your head, precious one; He is looking your way with eyes full of love. One look will transform your life. His head is turned toward you now. When you look at Him, you steal His heart. Can you see Him? With arms open He desires to embrace you and tenderly take you away in His presence. Take the hand of the Master, for He is waiting for you in the secret place!
Steve Porter
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