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God's Love Story - 7th in a series by Jessica Sheets Have you ever stopped to think about all the love stories in the Bible? I think this is probably a difficult concept for us to wrap our minds around. The Bible is so hard for us to understand in so many ways. We are totally unfamiliar with the Jewish culture, which is absolutely necessary for relating to most of the stories. And many of the verses that we memorized as children are in a language that was written hundreds of years ago...I still get lost in the "thee’s", "thou’s", and "thy’s." But when we really dig to understand exactly what is happening, we can find it incredibly relevant to our lives today! Love stories are all over the place (the beautiful and the tragic). Can’t you just picture your favorite leading man and lady playing David and Bathsheeba...you know, the one where he sees her on the roof, has an affair with her, gets her pregnant, then has her husband killed...it’s nothing less than a Hollywood blockbuster storyline! Though it may make a good Hollywood movie, but it is definitely not God’s ideal. When I think of romances in the Bible my favorite is that of Isaac and Rebekah (Genesis 24). Theirs is an arranged marriage. I know it sounds absolutely horrific; it’s one of those cultural things that we don’t understand. I’m sure there were terrible marriages that parents forced upon their kids, but there were also parents who sought God in every detail of their lives, including finding or accepting a spouse for their child. This was the case for Isaac and Rebekah. Abraham (Isaac’s father) sent his servant to find a woman for Isaac. I encourage you to read the story, just keep an open mind and remember that they did things differently...not bad, just different. The first time I read the story, I remember thinking, "He prayed what? How weird! And that determined the woman he would pick?" But then if you consider how God’s hand was at work through it all...it really goes from weird to amazing! God led the servant to the exact spot at the exact time when Rebekah would be there. And the exact thing that the servant prayed for is what happened. It was evident to Rebekah and her family that this man had been sent from God. So they had a choice to make...should she stay or should she go? I don’t imagine it was so much a choice of whether or not to marry the man whom the servant described, the choice was more likely whether or not to trust that this was God’s leading and whether to follow. She did follow...and this is where the story gets good. They make the trip back, and just as their journey is reaching its end, they meet Isaac out in the field. The Bible says that Isaac sees the camels approaching in the distance, and Rebekah looks up to see Isaac in the field (imagine that music begins to play in the background and they run toward each other and embrace as the sun sets behind them...no, not really). But she did go meet the man in the field with whom she would spend the rest of her life. Maybe it was one of those awkward first date kind of moments, or maybe it was a moment they had both been waiting for their entire life...maybe a little of both. Nonetheless, it was a moment ordained by their Lord, and they knew it. The next verse is the one I clung to during my "waiting for my husband" time...Genesis 24:67. "...So she became his wife, and he loved her." He loved her! And not only was she loved, but she was loved by a man who was in love with God. Before I close, I have to tell you that my family lives in an older house with a peculiar floor plan. All the rooms connect making a big circle. My three-year-old loves this (and as the mother of an energetic toddler, it does come in handy). He and his dad have all kinds of games they play through the house. Sometimes as they are playing, they literally run around in circles trying to find each other; they each go their own way and keep missing the other. Sometimes I have to intervene to help get the games back on track. Now imagine two people wandering around in something much bigger than a little house (a world, for example) trying to "find" each other. They are likely to discover that they are just running around in circles. Unless they let Someone intervene...it is doubtful that they will just "happen" on each other. So, I encourage you to be praying for what, or who, God would have for your future...that in His time and by His grace you would find your Issac without having to run in too many circles. We don’t know how or when He will work, but we do know that the most amazing love stories come from Him...why don’t you let Him write yours.