My brother just got engaged yesterday. This makes a grand total of seven of my dearest friends (and now relatives, too!) that will be getting married within 4 months of my return to Korea. I also happened to watch Julia Stiles' "The Prince and Me," in which an American college student meets and fall in love with the prince of Denmark, and drops her entire life in America and moves to Denmark so that they can be together.
That got me thinking....what would people who are in love be willing to do for each other? I can't really comment on it, as I honestly don't think I've ever been in love. But judging from the evidence that I've seen from other people, I imagine that love must be a powerful force, indeed. Love is what causes women to run in front of barreling semi trucks to save their children, or men to willing choose to die in order to save their wives; or, in Julia Stiles' case, to give up an entire lifetime and all of your dreams and move to the other side of the world, just to be with the one you love.
King David was in love, too. I love the story of the ark returning to Jerusalem during his reign. The ark of the Lord had been gone for many years, and it was finally returning home. In his joy, David couldn't help from dancing. But he didn't just dance. He, the king of Israel, basically danced in his underwear in front of the entire nation of Israel. And he felt no shame.
I can understand why Michal, his wife, was ashamed of him. That is not "normal," "acceptable" behavior - especially for a king. But David didn't care what other people thought of him. He had other priorities, other people he wanted to please more.
Love causes you to do crazy things. I often think about football games in the deep south when I think of love. If you've never been to one of these games, you won't get it. It's impossible to adequately explain with mere words. But let's just say that football fans....can be somewhat rabid. They paint their faces, and make signs, and yell their lungs out....in a word, true football fans love football. They do really crazy things, unconventional things, because they want everyone to know what they love.
When you're in love you do stupid things. You do ridiculous things. You do things that make everyone else look at you as if you had three heads. And you don't give a flip, because....you're in love! Nothing else matters. What sort of crazy things has your love for the Lord caused you to do lately?
That got me thinking....what would people who are in love be willing to do for each other? I can't really comment on it, as I honestly don't think I've ever been in love. But judging from the evidence that I've seen from other people, I imagine that love must be a powerful force, indeed. Love is what causes women to run in front of barreling semi trucks to save their children, or men to willing choose to die in order to save their wives; or, in Julia Stiles' case, to give up an entire lifetime and all of your dreams and move to the other side of the world, just to be with the one you love.
King David was in love, too. I love the story of the ark returning to Jerusalem during his reign. The ark of the Lord had been gone for many years, and it was finally returning home. In his joy, David couldn't help from dancing. But he didn't just dance. He, the king of Israel, basically danced in his underwear in front of the entire nation of Israel. And he felt no shame.
I can understand why Michal, his wife, was ashamed of him. That is not "normal," "acceptable" behavior - especially for a king. But David didn't care what other people thought of him. He had other priorities, other people he wanted to please more.
Love causes you to do crazy things. I often think about football games in the deep south when I think of love. If you've never been to one of these games, you won't get it. It's impossible to adequately explain with mere words. But let's just say that football fans....can be somewhat rabid. They paint their faces, and make signs, and yell their lungs out....in a word, true football fans love football. They do really crazy things, unconventional things, because they want everyone to know what they love.
When you're in love you do stupid things. You do ridiculous things. You do things that make everyone else look at you as if you had three heads. And you don't give a flip, because....you're in love! Nothing else matters. What sort of crazy things has your love for the Lord caused you to do lately?
2 Samuel 6:12-22
12 Now King David was told, “The Lord has blessed the household of Obed-Edom and everything he has, because of the ark of God.” So David went to bring up the ark of God from the house of Obed-Edom to the City of David with rejoicing. 13 When those who were carrying the ark of the Lord had taken six steps, he sacrificed a bull and a fattened calf.14 Wearing a linen ephod, David was dancing before the Lord with all his might, 15 while he and all Israel were bringing up the ark of the Lord with shouts and the sound of trumpets.
16 As the ark of the Lord was entering the City of David, Michal daughter of Saul watched from a window. And when she saw King David leaping and dancing before the Lord, she despised him in her heart.
17 They brought the ark of the Lord and set it in its place inside the tent that David had pitched for it, and David sacrificed burnt offerings and fellowship offerings before the Lord.18 After he had finished sacrificing the burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, he blessedthe people in the name of the Lord Almighty. 19 Then he gave a loaf of bread, a cake of dates and a cake of raisins to each person in the whole crowd of Israelites, both men and women. And all the people went to their homes.
20 When David returned home to bless his household, Michal daughter of Saul came out to meet him and said, “How the king of Israel has distinguished himself today, going around half-naked in full view of the slave girls of his servants as any vulgar fellow would!”
21 David said to Michal, “It was before the Lord, who chose me rather than your father or anyone from his house when he appointed me ruler over the Lord’s people Israel—I will celebrate before the Lord. 22 I will become even more undignified than this, and I will be humiliated in my own eyes. But by these slave girls you spoke of, I will be held in honor.”
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