Jesus Cleaves To Us

Which, incidentally, brings me to what I originally started to blog about.

The passage that struck me in a new way was in the book of Corinthians I think. I can't recall the book right now. Anyways, it is the passage where Paul is giving instruction to the church on love, family and marriage. He explains that a man should leave his father and mother and cleave to his wife, even as Christ cleaves to the church. I have read this passage many times before, but I had never noticed how the writer pauses and briefly notes that he is “speaking a mystery". He pauses to point out that he is actually referring to Christ and the church, a divine mystery. Just as Jesus left his Heavenly Father and home and cleaves to the church, his bride, so to a man will leave his parents to cleave to his wife. What an awesome picture and truth! Jesus cleaves to us, which means to hold fast to us. The word evokes the idea of wrapping around and enveloping another. Another picture of cleaving is in the book of Ruth, when it says that "Ruth clave to Naomi". It is a picture of consecrated love and devotion. Jesus cleaves to us in absolute love. On the cross he completely left his divine nature and entwined himself with fallen humanity. In wrapping himself around us in absolute love unto death, he exchanged his nature with ours; we became one. This is a truth worthy of contemplating. How might it transform us to understand this love that passes understanding?

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