I want to sit at your feet, drink from the cup in your hand; lay back against you and breathe; feel your heartbeat. This love is so deep, it is more than I can stand. I melt in your peace, it’s overwhelming.
This is a song that we sing in church. I heard it in a new way last week. To understand the new way, you need to understand the old way.
Previously, I pictured a setting like the painting, The Last Supper. I would imagine that I was one of the disciples, and Jesus and I would be lounging around, having dinner, and I would be resting on his chest hearing his heart beat. Nice visual, eh?
This week, I heard it in a different way. The scene is no longer the room with the huge dining room. Jesus and I are no longer sharing the covenant meal. The scene revolves around the heartbeat of Christ. This scene revolves around suffering humanity. What makes His heart beat? If we look into the Word of God, we know that lost souls make his heart beat. We know Isaiah 53:10-11 states: Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise Him;
He has put Him to grief.
When You make His soul an offering for sin,
He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days,
And the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in His hand.
11 He shall see the labor of His soul,and be satisfied.
By His knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify many,
For He shall bear their iniquities.
We see in this portion of scripture that the Lord shall see His seed, and He will be satisfied. The Message versions says it like this:
Still, it’s what God had in mind all along, to crush him with pain. The plan was that he give himself as an offering for sin so that he’d see life come from it—life, life, and more life. And God’s plan will deeply prosper through him. Out of that terrible travail of soul, he’ll see that it’s worth it and be glad he did it.
This is the heartbeat of Christ. To see sinners saved; to see the ill healed; to see those emotionally battered back on the road to peace. This is His heartbeat.
When I hear this part of the song, the ‘Lay back against you and Breathe’ part is difficult because of the alignment of my heartbeat with His. If we know Christ, and enter into the ‘fellowship of His suffering.’ (Phil 3:10), then we will be overwhelmed. A love like this IS more than we can stand. When we picture all the hurt in the world, and when we know that Christ saw this from the foundations of the world, and still chose to come and be that sacrifice so that we could have life, then we can melt in His peace.
Until next time,
Polly
