When a 5 year old is dying of cancer, what can be done to make up for all that she will miss? This was the challenge facing Ryan and Heidi, whose daughter, Lila May Schow, was diagnosed with stage four neuroblastoma and is not expected to make it to this Thanksgiving.
Springing into action, her parents decided they would not allow the cancer to rob their daughter of the important celebrations of life. So they planned a fairy tale ball, which included every major celebration a girl has to look forward to -- a prom, a birthday bash and a wedding!
To this end, a large facility was secured and transformed into a princess' castle for the day. Lila arrived on a horse-drawn carriage, wearing a custom-made princess gown and tiara. She was received by a large crowd of family and friends.
In a celebration full of meaningful moments, the most important came when her father "proposed" to her ... get this ... so that she would know what a proposal felt like!
"My beloved spoke and said to me, 'Arise, my darling, my beautiful one, come with me'" (Song of Solomon 2:10). With these words, the bride of Solomon was swept away by her bridegroom. As she drank in the significance of each moment of her betrothal, she felt completely covered in the love of her soon-to-be husband. It was a beautiful moment. She exulted, "My beloved is mine and I am his ... He has brought me to his banquet hall, and his banner over me is love" (Song of Solomon 2:4, NASB).
That's what Ryan and Heidi wanted for their daughter. They wanted her to know what it's like to be the object of absolute devotion. They wanted her to know what it's like to be promised unending love. They wanted her to know what it's like to belong to the love of another.
And so her father proposed to her in a beautiful banquet hall. They didn't want their daughter to depart from this world without knowing what a proposal felt like.
What a blessed little girl, to have parents that love her and know how to communicate that love.
As we reflect on the purpose of Christ's coming and of His sacrifice, we are likewise blessed to know that we have a God Who loves us and knows how to communicate that love.
Jesus went to the cross because He wanted you to know what it's like to be the object of absolute devotion. He rose from the grave because He wanted you to know what it's like to be promised unending love. He did all of this so that no matter what circumstances you might face, you could still know what it's like to belong to the love of another.
Jesus doesn't want you to depart from this world without knowing what a proposal feels like.
Will you accept His proposal of love?
“Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give that person a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to the one who receives it” (Revelation 2:17).
Celebrated Christian author and minister George MacDonald relates this commentary on the above verse:
The true name of a person is one which expresses the character, the nature, the being, the meaning of the person who bears it. It is the man’s own symbol,—his soul’s picture, in a word,—the sign which belongs to him and to no one else. Who can give a man this, his own name? God alone. For no one but God sees what the man is … It is only when the man has become his name that God gives him the stone with the name upon it, for then first can he understand what his name signifies. … Such a name cannot be given until the man is the name … that being whom God had in His thought when He began to make the child, and whom He kept in his thought through the long process of creation that went to realize the idea. To tell the name is to seal the success—to say, “In thee also I am well pleased.”
George MacDonald (1824 – 1905) was a Scottish author, poet, and Christian minister. He was also a pioneering figure in the field of fantasy literature and the mentor of fellow writer Lewis Carroll.
Any who have attended a wedding reception, or any great banquet for that matter, know that before taking one’s seat, one must consult a list to see what table and seat they have been assigned. Then, at the table, they will see a place card with their name upon it. Only then can they enjoy their rightful place at the table.
Only glorified sons and daughters of the Living God will be seated at His table for the Marriage Supper of the Lamb. There, at that great feast, they will be called and known by the name which God alone has chosen for them—a new name which fully expresses all that they have become in Christ. Who knows but that the stone with our name engraved upon it might serve as the place card reserving our rightful place at the King’s table.
Illustration Exchange
John Eldredge, in his book SACRED ROMANCE, shares the pain of not belonging:
Being left out is one of life’s most painful experiences. I remember the daily fourth-grade torture of waiting in line while the captains chose their teams for the kickball games. As each captain took turns choosing a player, descending from best to worst, our rank in fourth-grade society was reinforced. Though others fared worse than I—“Don’t make us take Smitty, we had him last time”—I was never the first to be chosen. No one ever said, “Wait—we get Eldredge this time!” I didn’t feel wanted; at best, I felt tolerated. And then there was junior high cafeteria. After buying lunch, you carried your tray out into the dining room, looking for a place to eat. There was an unspoken hierarchy that determined where you could sit. I walked over to table filled with the “cool” kids, but before I could sit down, one of them sneered, “Not here, Eldredge, we’re saving this for someone else.”
John Eldredge is an author, a counselor, and teacher. He is also president of Ransomed Heart, a ministry devoted to helping people discover the heart of God, recover their own heart in his love, and learn to live in his Kingdom.
“These,” he says, “are some of the ways I learned the lesson that I was on the outside."
Throughout our lives, each one of us lives with a constant nagging that we never quite fit in, we never truly belong. We’ve all had enough experience to teach us that we will never be allowed into the “sacred circle,” the place of intimacy. …
On the other hand, there is the joy of having someone save a place for us. WE walk into a crowded room at church or at a dinner party and someone cares, he waves us over, pointing to a chair he’s held on to especially for us. For a moment we feel a sense of relief, a taste of being on the inside. Now consider Jesus’ worlds in John 14:2—“I am going … to prepare a place for you.” … When we walk into the wedding feast of the Lamb … We’ll be welcomed to the table by our Lord himself. … There will be a seat with our name on it, held open at Jesus’ command for us and no other.”