The Dove part 3
This is my favorite part. When I was studying Song of Solomon a while ago--feels like a long time ago--I saw something so cool. Ready? Ok. Song of Solomon 1:15 says, "Behold, thou art fair, my love; behold, thou art fair; thou hast doves' eyes." So take what we've been building on. The dove is the Holy Spirit, right? So doves' eyes means seeing through the Holy Spirit! Seeing things the way God sees them. Seeing through the eyes of love! And, since we've been talking about Noah, don't ever forget where he found grace. "But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD" (Genesis 6:8). This is so important. What you see is what you be. "Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is" (1 John 3:2). Because when we see Him... we see ourselves. And the only way to see Him clearly is to see Him with doves' eyes. To see Him through the Spirit. Now, watch this--because this is where it gets really exciting. In the first chapter of Song of Solomon we (the bride) are described as having doves' eyes. Fast forward to chapter 5. "I sleep, but my heart waketh: it is the voice of my beloved that knocketh, saying, Open to me, my sister, my love, my dove, my undefiled: for my head is filled with dew, and my locks with the drops of the night" (Song of Solomon 5:2). Did you catch that? The progression went from "you have doves' eyes" to "you are a dove." What we see... is what we be. When we begin to see things as they truly are--when Jesus appears (to us, and in us, and through us, and as us)--that's when we can BE who we really are. We ARE the Son(s) of God. And while we might not understand in fullness everything that that means... I believe we are figuring it out. Step by step. As we walk in love. As we let love lead the way. Lead and guide us into the truth that God is love and He loves you. Listen, you can't believe something that you don't know. Faith comes from hearing, and hearing from the Word of God. Which is Jesus. Which is love. One more time: Seeing is believing. When you look into God's eyes--by looking in the mirror--and find grace, that's when you can be graceful. When you start to discover what's really inside (by letting God reveal it to you... by letting God reveal HIMSELF to you) that's when what's really inside can (and will) come out. Naturally. A dove doesn't try really hard to be a dove. It just spreads its wings and flies. We don't have to try really hard to love people. Even the people who are "hard" to love. We just open our hearts and let love flow. In AND out. Receiving and releasing. Receiving BY releasing. Releasing by receiving. Filling ourselves to overflowing with what we've already been filled with. We have doves' eyes. We have the mind of Christ. We simply need to let the mind of Christ (that's already in us) BE in us. We simply have to look as He looks. See as He sees. And in seeing... be. Be who we really are. The dove. The Holy Spirit. Jesus. God in the flesh. Love in a body. God in OUR flesh. Love in OUR body!