Dark am I, yet Lovely

When I look at my wedding ring with diamonds glistening, reminding me of my husband, the love of my life & the covenant we have made to one another, I do not know the journey those diamonds took to get to the point of their dazzling beauty.  I've read through several websites that describe the mining process to get diamonds to their point of sale.  "As you can imagine, the journey a rough diamond undergoes from its violent formation process to being mounted on an exquisite setting is long indeed and passes through many different channels," (from an article How are Diamonds Mined from the Earth).  This is the journey of the bride!  We begin dark, a rough diamond that undergoes a long process to loveliness!  But through the whole process, a diamond is still a diamond!  This is our identity.

Song of Solomon 1:5, "Dark am I, yet lovely, O daughters of Jerusalem, dark like the tents of Kedar, (lovely) like the tent curtains of Solomon."  This is the brides' two-fold confession.  The balance of being DARK and LOVELY to the King!
Here is what I take from this confession:  The Lord is pleased with me before I am mature.

God looks at the movements of our heart.  He remembers the way I've moved close to Him.  He enjoys me along the journey.  The only way I can stay on the journey & not give up is to feel His smile/His pleasure....I would quit if I thought that God was mad at me all the time.  Something the Lord has taught me is this: Immaturity is not the same as rebellion.  To know I am lovely before God gives me confidence even in my brokenness and weakness.

If all I saw was my DARKNESS, I would lose my confidence before God; I would want to give up; I wouldn't even notice the way my heart moves God's heart.  I would hide myself from Him, feeling shame and condemnation.

If all I saw was my LOVELINESS, I would be prideful, thinking I could do things on my own.  I wouldn't see my need for a Savior or for confession or for relationship with Jesus. 

Recognizing my darkness keeps me humble before God and recognizing my loveliness before God, gives me a boldness to run to Him and continue pursuing Him with my whole being.

But how can I be lovely in God's eyes?
1) Because of who God is~ Beauty is in the eye of the beholder
2) Because of righteousness~ I will never get a "larger" portion of righteousness
3) Because of Holy Spirit's impartation~ He gives me a willing spirit to obey God.  The cry of the spirit is to grow in love with God.  My spirit is alive to God!
4) Because of eternal destiny~ God sees me through the lenses of eternity, not my "momentary trouble" or brokenness or weakness.  He knows the end of my story!

Oh the great, great love of God towards His beloved ones. 

Do you see both these realities of darkness & loveliness manifesting in your belief system?  How? 

Confess:  I am dark, yet lovely to You Jesus!