Romance ?

My comment on this blog post.  http://tanyamarlow.com/when-jesus-wont-be-your-boyfriend-guest-post/#comment-71299


I think that expecting romance all the time is a very nineteenth century escapist dream. It's a nice extra, but for most relationships in most parts of the world through most of history it's a luxury.  Notice it's the man who has to love his wife, and even there the word isn't eros or even a word that means romance but the very pragmatic agape which is the love expected of all christians. Many women have to think first about ensuring themselves a stable future in cultures where women don't get paid for their work.

Many of us don't feel that much. Others feel an awful lot. There has to be a place for all of us. Maybe we can gain some measure of freedom of feelings and some people definitely need to get all that under control !

However I think in the Bible God does introduce the idea of romance in how he speaks to us. It comes in the song of songs of course, but also in the prophets which is pretty ironic. They've been a chosen people behaving badly and are about to get violently chucked out of the promised land - and lo and behold there are these lovely romantic bits in Isaiah and Zephenaiah - reminding us that's how he thinks about us all along and we got hung up on law - well, not doing it, and the rituals.

I think the same happened in protestantism a bit. We got a bit hung up on being right, truth, hard work and the movement to bring romance into worship has had a prophetic feel to it. BUT it's only part of the story and to make it the whole story is to get into and equal unbalance the other way. I was part of that generation who were thrilled to get a little bit of freedom and feeling in worship but I didn't want it to pendulum swing to the opposite !

I got caught on something similar but on the other end of the pendulum swing. I came under condemnation because I don't read the Bible every day. I just don't manage it. I can't cope with a new idea every day. Until there were the Jeff Lucas daily notes I couldn't bear them either. But when I do read it I read a whole lot, study it and then think it through - which can take months. There has to be a place for both. Diversity of approaches should be seen as a strength in protestantism instead of clamping down on it.

Condemnation is not a sign of the Holy Spirit at work.

Thank you for so honestly sharing Jenn.