Sometime ago I saw one of those comical videos of a feisty little kitten spreadeagled in a bowl of dried cat food so none of its siblings could have any. Every time another kitten approached too close the kitten occupying the bowl stuck out its front paw in the face of the one approaching to stop it coming any closer while munching on the biscuits like there was no tomorrow! 😂

There was more than enough food for a dozen kittens, and there was no way that this little creature would ever be able to consume the lot, but it did its level best to take ownership of the entire supply of food!

We see something similar with babies and toddlers. A toy, or something tasty …. You know what they are wanting you to know just by their body language, and the sounds they make … “That’s mine! Nobody’s having it!” 😊

We can see clearly the emergence of the sinful nature from so very young, and as parents we discourage such selfishness in the noble attempt to raise well balanced individuals, and to continue the next generation with good and godly principles.

The Bible would not encourage us to be selfish like children are and like feisty little kittens over stuff that has no value. However, when it comes to godly wisdom, and the pursuit of knowing God personally, we are encouraged to do so because of the tremendous benefits not just for ourselves, but for the benefit of others also:

The wisdom the Bible is telling us about is not something we can acquire for somebody else. This is something we have to gain and treasure for ourselves, and they must do the same. 

When it comes to the spiritual realm, it all gets very personal and this is the way God intended this to be. In the little while we have to live here on earth, we have the grand opportunity each day to learn a little more of 'the One who loved us and gave Himself for us.’ (See Galatians 2: 20.)

This desire to know and to love Him more begins the moment we trusted in the Lord Jesus, and for some, a little sooner! This is a slow and gradual process during the course of life and during our walk with God until we get to be with Him forever.

When I was in my late teens I had the deepest desire to know God personally! I didn’t dare share that with anyone because they would not only have thought I had gone completely mad, but would have thought that this was highly presumptuous of me to dare to desire or pursue such a thing!

After discovering that it was my sin that separated me from Him, and the terrible price that the Lord Jesus paid in order that I may be saved, I discovered something absolutely incredible!

The intimacy I longed for between God and I was not presumptuous at all, but it was God that gendered that desire in my heart! This is His desire for all of His trusting people. 

In the beautiful book of the Songs of Solomon there are three interesting statements carefully placed within the eight chapters of reading. These indicate a growing and maturing appreciation of the precious relationship the Shulamite maid had with Solomon in the passing of time.

🔸 Firstly she says of her beloved:
“My beloved is mine, and I am his …” Song of Solomon 2: 16

Oh, that first love; when a person trusts the Lord Jesus and realises that something very precious has begun that is going to last for eternity! “Jesus is my Lord and Saviour, and I belong to Him.” “He loved me and gave Himself for me, and now I am His forever.”

And in the passing of time she now says:
🔸 “I am my beloved's, and my beloved is mine …” Song of Solomon 6: 3

When we are occupied with the One who has promised to be our daily Companion, we discover the more we know Him the more precious He becomes. The first love we knew back on the day when we first trusted in Him has now grown deeper. “I am the purchased possession of the One who is the delight of His Father’s heart, and by the grace of God I can call Him mine!”

But now her love completely rests in Him:
🔸 “I am my beloved's, and his desire is toward me.” Song of Solomon 7: 10

The longer our journey and walk with the Lord, the more we realise that it’s all about Him. The unspeakably wonderful fact that ‘He’s Mine’, though true becomes beautifully engulfed in His desire towards His people. “I belong to the One whose love will never fail. I am the object of His interest and his desire.” How could any one of us begin to describe such love towards such unworthy people like ourselves?

That beautiful transition of the mind-set can take a while for some, and less time for others depending on what we do or do not allow to distract us along the way. But one thing is certain, and that is: it was He who saw us from before the foundation of the world and drew us with the cords of love while we were yet unlovable - “While we were yet sinners He died for us” Romans 5: 8.

And because of such love and tender mercy each one who has trusted in Him can say in full assurance of faith that “He is mine, all mine”, without there being any element of selfishness. In the hearts of everyone who treasures the Lord Jesus as their own and personal Lord and Saviour is the great desire to make Him known to all folks near and far, so all may know and appreciate how ‘altogether lovely’ He really is.

Oh, that you knew my beloved like I know Him, then your heart would rejoice and be at perfect peace and rest. It warms my heart to know that you may well read the following verse from the beautiful hymn ‘My Redeemer’ and add to it your personal ‘Amens’