"Take me to you, imprison me.
For I, except you enthrall me, never shall be free,
Nor ever chaste, except you ravish me."
-John Donne
In the Bible study I'm doing on Romans, Tim Keller suggests that I meditate on this poem (which I cannot quite get my hands around)and pray that the Lord let me be so ravished by His love of me that no other love can control me. Keller also reminds me that all of my problems are a result of "forgetting how loved, honored, beautiful, secure, rich, respected, embraced, free in Jesus I am."
8 comments:
I can't really get my head around that one either.
That is beautiful! I totally believe that a relationship with God is the beginning to understanding oneself. I have only started to realize that recently.
May you remain a slave to Christ and a fool for Christ, as your heart and every thought are held captive by His obediance in amazing love and grace.
I think that poem is just a little TOO intimate to be compared to one’s love for Jesus. I can totally understand the idea of “into-me-see” but something about using words like “ravish” when referring to Jesus does not seem right.
My personal suggestion would be to “get your hands around” a different biblical study guide.
The Computer Guy
I disagree...I think physical intimacy is not the most intimate of connections..and John Dunne's poem is just trying to communicate in physical terms the spiritual sense of being completely taken over by something in a way that, ironically, promotes even greater purity. The crazy (and awesome)thing about this poem is that it describes how counterintuitive it is to give your life to Christ - by giving up myself, I gain life. "For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it." Matthew 16:25. It might seem like losing something, but the total surrender that he describes is really freedom. That is a pretty shocking image but it is also beautiful.
Kimberly I love that verse. I always think about whether I would rather be enslaved to sin (and totally trapped) or enslaved to Christ (and totally free).
Computer Guy: I think you and I are both a little bothered by the word ravish. So, of course, I looked it up on www.dictionary.com, and the second definition listed for "ravish" is "to rape; violate." I imagine Donne intended the third definition listed: "to overwhelm with emotion; enrapture," which is how I feel sometimes about Christ--completely emotionally overwhelmed by his unconditional love for me despite how I reject Him time and time again in my thoughts and actions.
I found the use of the word 'ravish' somewhat disturbing myself. But it serves it's purpose in this poem and a dedicated reader would take the time to consider it's use.
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