I used to get really hung up on passages of Scripture like Joshua 24:19-20 in which Joshua, while calling out Israel to act right and make a covenant with him says things like "You can't do it [give up false idols]; you're not able to worship God. He is a holy God. He is a jealous God..." (emphasis mine).
I would try and imagine Jesus like I thought he really was. A lay-worker, perhaps a mason; probably not very tall; he probably stank most of the time. But he loved with a demeanor that drew people in upon first impressions. No one doubted he was of God; that is why his opponents were so vehemently against him: he was clearly doing God's work...and they should have been.
So I take that guy and then add what most modern people call a negative thing or even an emotional malfunction: Jealousy. Jesus who encouraged us to give up all our stuff so that we can further the Kingdom is the same God who is Jealous?
I struggled with this, but then I got a job in a beef plant. I know, that didn't make sense, but it will.
You see, I started working on the slaughter floor of a local beef processing plant when I was 19 years old. From there I joined the Quality Assurance department and moved over to the fabrication and ground beef areas. As one with an Associates degree in Science and one who was picking up my Biology degree path again (some year and a half after starting), they moved me to the Quality Assurance Microbiology Lab.
Here I learned how God is Jealous.
One of my coworkers was a legal immigrant from Guadalajara, Mexico and his English was pretty good most of the time, but he struggled to find the right word when explaining things. One of the tests we did required us to fill up several glass bottles of water and autoclave them for E-Coli test media. We had an extremely limited space in our lab and the release and shipping of a major portion of the plant's product hinged on this test so that we couldn't afford to be untimely. In my training, this coworker was explaining this important job and repeatedly instructed me not to spill the water under any circumstance. When I asked "why?" he tried a couple different answers, but it wasn't coming across. Finally, in frustration, he blurted out "we are jealous for the water".
"what?"
"We are jealous for the water. You know, we want it all."
Then it clicked. We didn't want to lose even the smallest drop of water. We were jealous for it.
God is a jealous God; he longs for all of us. He wants his people's hearts, minds, souls and bodies. My coworker thought he was choosing a poor word for the situation, but his frustrated answer yielded a revelation to me.
A couple days ago I used a quote by Julian of Norwich; this morning, I came across another:
God is thirsty for everyone. This thirst has already drawn the Holy to joy and we the living are ever being drawn and drunk. And yet, God still thirsts and longs.
-- Julian of Norwich
Meditate on this reality: God is thirsty for you. God is jealous for the water of your being. He wants every drop. You are valued and loved by the Divine Creator.
Peace,
C.M.
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