Monday, April 27, 2009

Child, Friend, Bride: A Threefold Cord

"And though a man might prevail against him who is alone, two will withstand him. A threefold cord is not quickly broken." Ecclesiastes 4:12

While taking a walk with Jesus yesterday, I meditated on the various aspects of my relationship with Him. I considered being His child, His friend and His bride. The powerful position those relationships afford, overwhelms me!

Often fellow Christians have said that we need to know who we are in Christ, but just WHO are we in Christ? I felt like Jesus told me WHO we are yesterday, a child, a friend and a bride and a threefold cord is not easily broken!

Ecclesiastes 4:12, indicates our need for each other; we are stronger together then separate. A single cord may be easily torn in two, and doubled that same cord exhibits twice its original strength, but three cords wound together provide a strength that is not easily broken. I wholeheartedly agree with this interpretation, however, what if we view the threefold cord as symbolic of our varied ways of relating to our God?

Symbolically, the first cord in relating to God is that we are His children. He created us; He is our Daddy! In accepting Jesus as Savior and Lord, we immediately have all the rights and privileges inherent of sonship.

John 1:12 "But to as many as did receive and welcome Him, He gave the authority (power, privilege, right) to become the children of God, that is, to those who believe in (adhere to, trust in, and rely on) His name."

Though we may not understand scope of the vast authority given to us, by our Dad, that authority is within us ready to be used to declare Heaven's will upon this earth. What characterizes a child though? Playful, innocent, trusting, and a Daddy-adoring heart are the attributes that come to my mind when considering a child. The first cord of who we are in Christ has to begin with our understanding of being His child and exhibiting child-like traits.

Mark 10:15 "Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive and accept and welcome the kingdom of God like a little child [does] positively shall not enter it at all."

The second cord strand is friendship with God. He has no longer called us slaves, but friends.

John 15:14 & 15 "You are My friends if you keep on doing the things which I command you to do. I do not call you servants (slaves) any longer, for the servant does not know what his master is doing (working out). But I have called you My friends, because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from My Father. [I have revealed to you everything that I have learned from Him.]

Friends listen to one another; they share secrets and work together to accomplish a goal. Their hearts are tied together with a bond that enables them to read each others thoughts. They know one another and are even willing to die for each other. Jesus wants us to relate to Him as a friend, not a slave. He desires us to walk each day with Him on His level, seated with Him in heaven. Keeping our heads up and our spiritual eyes open, we can do what He is doing here on earth and accomplish the goal of releasing heaven right here, right now on earth.

Ephesians 2:6 "And He raised us up together with Him and made us sit down together [giving us joint seating with Him] in the heavenly sphere [by virtue of our being] in Christ Jesus (the Messiah, the Anointed One)."

Devoted passion, eyes locked, hearts beating furiously to be with the Beloved, pure in her desire for One Man, this is what a bride is like. Passion like this completes the threefold cord. This cord's strength is beyond comprehension for its fibers are reinforced by the power of the Holy Spirit.

2 Corinthians 11:2 "For I am jealous for you with the jealousy of God himself. I promised you as a pure bride one husband—Christ."

Do past sins enter my thoughts? Yes. BUT the love Jesus pours into my soul quickly brings me back to Him, my first love. Do the cares of this world tempt a bride to draw her eyes away from His eyes of flaming fire? Yes, at times. When that happens, a bride will cry out to her Bridegroom, and He will intervene. Our bridal relationship with Jesus must be maintained at all costs. Spending time with Him, dating Him, passionately worshipping Him are marks of a bride.

The evil one would attempt to break any or all of the strands composing the cord of our relationship with Jesus. Satan works overtime to deceive us whispering, "You're not really accepted as a child of God" or "How can you be so arrogant to think of God as your friend?" Maybe he says, "You're damaged goods, never will One so holy would want you as His bride." Do not listen to evil's lies, beloved!

We are His child, His friend and His bride, and a threefold cord is not easily broken!

Holy Spirit seal this truth up in our hearts. Cause head knowledge to become heart knowledge, burning in our hearts so brightly that we cannot help but to walk out our beautiful relationship with You. All for You, my Daddy, my Friend and my Bridegroom. AMEN!!!

2 comments:

Andrea said...

Oh, I have never realized the deeper truth of this scripture! Thank you for sharing such powerful words today.

Our relationship with God is so layered, and He has designed it so. He meets our every need through our walk with Him. And I can see how being His child, friend, and bride all work together, drawing us, keeping us, sustaining us in every situation.

Again, I appreciate your post. I pray you are showered with God's goodness today as you live for Him.

In Christ's Love,

Andrea

Julie said...

I found you from Lidj's blog. It's my first visit here. It's nice to meet you. I too am a home school mom.
I'm in my 17th year.

I loved the revelations of God to your heart here in this post. Thank you for sharing it.

I loved reading about the "hearing" and the angels voices. That's amazing!

Hope you'll stop by for a visit.
It's nice to meet you!