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The Ravished Heart of God
By Mike Bickle
Vol 2/ No.5/Aug 2001

For the centuries the Human Race was deceived by the idea of an untouchable God. From the Jews, who saw Him primarily as holy - that is, separated from sin and superior to all that is created to the stoics, who thought He was feelingless, to others who believed He was totally detached from human affairs, humans embraced wrong paradigms of the living God.

It was not until the early apostles presented the revelation of a God who not only feels but actually burns with desire for His creatures that people began to get a picture of who God as manifested by His incarnate Son, Jesus - really is.

The apostles taught that Jesus, because of His great love for us, deliberately under went every human experience in order to claim us as His bride, He ever willingly subjected Himself to pain and weakness, going so far as to submit to death on a cross to redeem His beloved.

This was a radically different view of God. It was inconceivable to the religious mind-set that a holy God could wrap Himself in the garments of humanity, feel deep human emotions and then be crushed by the wrath of the Father.

The apostles' teaching was difficult for the Jews to accept because it violated every known paradigm of God in their day. Many believers still cling to a view of God that is very different from the God scripture describes. But those who desire to walk in truth are now able to discover in Jesus one who felt everything we feel and who has a sympathetic understanding of the human struggle. We are able to know a God who expresses affectionate longing and tender mercy towards us.

We can go still further and learn to relate to Jesus as our heavenly Bridegroom. In the Song of Solomon, He tells us, "You have ravished My heart, my sister, my spouse" (4:9, NKJV). "Ravish" means to overcome with emotions of joy or delight. Thus, Jesus is saying He is overwhelmed with delight for His bride, who is beautiful to Him.

As difficult as it is to believe, Jesus feels this way about all of us - mature and immature believers alike. Though we may have difficulty grasping this truth, it is important for us to see Jesus as the ravished Bridegroom because false ideas about the personality of God lead to false ideas about what we look like to Him. Such ideas can damage our intimacy with the Lord.

I am convinced that an understanding of God's ravished heart is central to the end-time church. The gospel flourishes in the revelation of the extravagant passions of the personality of God. It is not enough to know that Jesus died on the cross. We need to know why He did it.

What motivated Him? Was it simply His desire to be obedient to the Father? No! It was the burning desire of His heart for us. He longed for us before we were even created.

Today, Jesus is making it easy for us to respond to Him. He is romancing His bride.

How is He doing this? By satisfying the deep longings of her heart- longing to be enjoyed and delighted in; longings to be fascinated, adorned and intimate; longings to make a difference through His Word and His Spirit. He is letting her see what He sees when. He looks at her. When she feels the truth of it, she becomes lovesick.

This is the goal - for us to fall in love with God because of His great love for us. Think of it! He has all authority and dwells in eternity - yet He deeply desires you. Knowing His feelings toward you is what should most define your life.

Everything looks different in the revelation of the ravished heart of God. Suddenly obedience is not hard. Sacrifice comes easily. And the christian is not hard. Sacrifice comes easily. And the Christian journey is no longer a struggle to overcome obstacles, but an invitation to engage in a love affair with one who burns with desire to have you as His bride.