Love-in-Idleness

Here is yet another happy circumstance when school and blog coincide. Does that ever happen to you?

Love-in-Idleness, or Heartsease

A few days ago, as I was reading A Midsummer Night's Dream for the I-don't-know-how-many-nth time, the scene where Oberon orders Puck to light the love potion upon the eyes of an unhappy youth struck me with a few new thoughts. I had never payed much attention to this flower juice's name, but during this last reading it jumped out at me: Love-in-Idleness. Interesting name, do you not think? Especially so when you read the results of the potion on Oberon's fairy queen, Titania. She ends up falling for a donkey and makes herself look pretty ridiculous in the process. 


We laugh at her antics, and Puck's, to be sure, but have you ever thought about how we fall for the same thing Titania did? It seems I am often guilty of those very same insanities she showed. Love-in-Idleness caused her to woo a donkey, yet, oh, the hapless things our hearts seek when our loves wander listlessly on, as idle as can be!


We have all heard the saying about the space in our soul only God can fill, the love which only He can give and the satisfaction only He can guarantee. Nevertheless, too many a time, our hearts forget their first Love and become regrettably idle. Purposeless. Doubtful. Hungry. Before we know, we find ourselves grasping after donkeys, just like poor Titania. Granted, most of the time our "donkeys" are not so ludicrous or obvious as is that of the fairy queen, but I am sure to God the idols our idle hearts chase are sorry substitutes for His majesty and love - ludicrous indeed. So, while our lovely selves may not look so silly to friends and family (not to mention us), we probably appear rather absurd to our Heavenly Father, after all He did for us. 


Have you ever paused to consider what "donkeys" are capturing your soul through an idle heart? TV, trashy books, gaudy music, and the "opposite sex" are all commonly cited examples, but Satan usually likes to be slightly more subtle. It may take some time to figure out; it certainly will take me a while!


So what is the remedy to our donkey infatuation? Well, lets wind back towards the love potion that starts all this featherbrained behaviour. Love-in-Idleness. Ahhh....that idle heart of ours. To keep our souls from courting barn animals, the stupor of our hearts must be cured. 


And that cure is Christ. There is no other.


Only when we see Christ for who He is, awesome, beautiful, radiant, glorious, the perfect example of perfect manhood, sovereign, powerful, and loving - in short, when we become infatuated with Him - will our hearts stop their wanderings. Yes, when we behold and treasure Him alone, then all our donkeys will appear as what they really were all along - donkeys. Then shan't they be left in the dust?


Better yet, our souls will not thirst and our hearts will not hunger when His vision becomes our vision. We will enjoy life at its fullest. He will guide your steps and use you for His amazing purpose. Yeah, purpose. No more disillusionment. Instead of Love-in-Idleness, let us take a dosage of Love-in-Life, Christ's life.