By night on my bed I sought him whom my soul loveth:
I sought him, but I found him not. Song of Solomon 3:1
I can picture her face in my mind, although the sound of her voice escapes me now. Crinkles surrounded the edges of her dark eyes. Every time I saw her, she had a vibrant smile ready in greeting. The belonging in that smile was my comfort in those early years. My family moved from house to house when I was young, but my grandparents lived in the same, rural Kansas home while their health allowed. Whenever we would come to visit, I would set my little purse on the couch, give a giant sigh, and announce, “I am HOME.” Home was not necessarily a place for me, though, it was a person. Home was where my grandmother’s love nurtured and welcomed me in.
Love and belonging are basic, but integral needs of the human heart. Those who do not find it in their home may search their whole lives longing for an unconditional, unselfish love. Humans can only partially fulfill this deep need, however. Death, sin, and the harsh reality of life can all interfere with the love that people can pour into other lives. Truly, there is only One who can meet the deepest longings of the human heart. Jesus spoke to those desperately trying to earn that kind of love, as well as those whose broken hearts had stopped trying to find it long before. He offered Himself as Home.
Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden,
and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me;
for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
Matthew 11:28-30
The rest He offered was a deep soul rest. The kind of rest that a three-year-old child found in the lap of unconditional love and nurture. But Jesus’s love goes above and beyond that rest. My grandmother’s love could only last as long as her life. She has been gone for over ten years now. I can no longer feel her arms around me or see the deep lines around her eyes crinkle when she greets me. The grave contains her body while death has silenced her voice.
This Song of Longing can only be answered by the One who conquered every threat to Love.
The cruelty of man did not stop Him. He loved the worst offender all the way to death.
The grave could not contain Him. His power over death arrested the fear death once reveled in. His blood overcame the futility of works-based religion. He freed the chains of the Law.
All of this, He offers with only one directive. “Come.”
The Longings of life are limitless and incessant. Money runs out. People disappoint or die. Hope fades and dreams die. But when our Song of Longing lifts its wispy trill, remember His sweet song that bids, “come.”
Where will you seek for Rest, today?
His Song in the Night 