{"id":6034,"date":"2020-04-14T17:13:00","date_gmt":"2020-04-14T07:13:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.stmark.com.au\/Blogs\/?p=6034"},"modified":"2020-04-14T22:27:01","modified_gmt":"2020-04-14T12:27:01","slug":"a-love-like-no-other","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.stmark.com.au\/Blogs\/a-love-like-no-other\/","title":{"rendered":"A Love Like No Other"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>\n

A Love like No Other<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Marianne Wilson<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBut God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners<\/strong>, Christ died for us.\u201d<\/em><\/p>Romans 5:8<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

The scene opens to a hill, high up and with a view of the entire wall of Jerusalem. It really is the perfect location for a marriage. A place where all can see the most sacred, holy, intimate and beautiful relationship known to man about to unfold. The Bridegroom laying His life down for His bride, promising His unfailing love. As the view becomes clearer though, I become acutely aware of something extremely unusual; shocking even.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This marriage is\ndifferent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Markedly different.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rather than holding\nHis bride\u2019s hands; the Bridegroom\u2019s arms are outstretched.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rather than being\nclothed in the finest robes; He is naked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And rather than standing;\nHe is hung.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Confused, I look around to find the bride but she is nowhere to be seen. Concerned, I turn back and head towards the city, my pace slowing only for me to catch my breath. I search the streets, frantically asking everyone if they have seen the bride- certain that there has been a mistake. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most ignore me, some\nward me away angrily while others stare at me blankly, completely oblivious to\nwhat I am talking about. The sky turns from blue to a dark eerie grey, the rain\nbegins to beat down cutting through me like knives and the lightning explodes\nlighting up the evening sky. The streets quickly become silent and barren.\nSoaked, freezing and helpless I am convinced that all hope is lost. As I tread\nalong, head down, feet barely lifting up off the ground, I notice something out\nof the corner of my eye, something that catches my attention. It is a man, he\nlooks familiar. As I move closer I realise that he is a friend of the\nBridegroom. But he is kneeling oddly in a hidden corner, seemingly unaware of the\nraging storm around him. As I approach I notice that he is shaking, \u2018weeping bitterly\u2019\nand mumbling words I cannot make out. Embarrassed but desperate, I move closer and\nalmost whisper the question I had spent the last hour asking. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wearily he raises his\nhead. Even in the darkness I can see his bloodshot eyes and dampened face. With\na shaky voice and trembling hand he directs me to an alleyway just a mile down\nthe road. Filled with a new sense of optimism I quicken my pace, the rain no\nlonger bothering me and the cold almost unnoticeable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Arriving, I look down\nthe pitch black alleyway and notice the poorly concealed shadows lurking in the\ndarkness, the smell of cheap perfume and the sound of coins tinkling. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Immediately. I know\nwhere I am. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Frightened of what I\nmight see, I turn, ready to run; positive the man had made a mistake. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But then I see her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I see the bride.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rather than holding\nher Bridegroom\u2019s hands; she is wrapped around the waist of a strange man.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rather than a pure\nwhite dress, she wears an article; stained with the stench of sin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And rather than a\nvirgin bride she is a soiled dove. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Enraged, confused and\nhurt I turn and run. Not even stopping to catch my breath. I stumble up the\nhill, desperate. Desperate to get to the Bridegroom in time. He needed to know.\nHe needed to know the truth about His bride. Even from a distance I can hear\nHis laboured breathing. I drag my feet, every part of my body aching. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally, I make it,\nits not too late. I look at Him, hanging, beaten, bruised and bleeding. Desperate,\nso desperate, I tell Him the truth. The truth about His bride. I tell Him she\u2019s\nnot worth it. That she loves another man. That she may never return to Him. That\nthe price was too high. That all this\nwas a mistake. That I, was the bride.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But it doesn\u2019t phase\nHim, not at all! Rather, with a knowing smile and a sweetness in His eyes, He\nlooks at me with a love unfathomable. A love unfailing, intimate and\nunrelenting. A love so full of mercy and forgiveness it pierces through my very\nsoul. A love reserved only for a Bridegroom and His bride. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

And softly, oh so\nsoftly, between bruised lips, utters three simple words- \u201cIt is finished!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And bowing His head, He gave up His\nspirit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAnd it shall be, in that day, Says the Lord, That you will call Me \u2018My Husband,\u2019 And no longer call Me \u2018My Master\u2019\u2026 I will betroth you to Me forever; Yes, I will betroth you to Me In righteousness and justice, In lovingkindness and mercy;I will betroth you to Me in faithfulness, And you shall know the Lord.\u201d<\/em><\/p>Hosea 2:14-20<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A Love like No Other By Marianne Wilson \u201cBut God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.\u201d Romans 5:8 The scene opens to a hill, high up and with a view of the entire wall of Jerusalem. It really is the perfect location for a marriage. … Continue reading “A Love Like No Other”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":6035,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[114,24,188,6,220,193],"class_list":["post-6034","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","tag-bridegroom","tag-christ","tag-crucifixion","tag-love","tag-redemption","tag-salvation"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.stmark.com.au\/Blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6034","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.stmark.com.au\/Blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.stmark.com.au\/Blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.stmark.com.au\/Blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.stmark.com.au\/Blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6034"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/www.stmark.com.au\/Blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6034\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6202,"href":"http:\/\/www.stmark.com.au\/Blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6034\/revisions\/6202"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.stmark.com.au\/Blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6035"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.stmark.com.au\/Blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6034"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.stmark.com.au\/Blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6034"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.stmark.com.au\/Blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6034"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}