It is hard for the rich and powerful to find true love. The question will always be: do they love me for me or just for my stuff?

God is the Ultimate rich and powerful Being and so He faces this problem to a degree immeasurably beyond any human tycoon or royalty figure. Ezekiel 16 sums up the trouble God had with Lady Jerusalem over the years. He took her from wallowing in a pool of blood, washed her, clothed her, and fed her so that she grew into a mature and full-bodied woman. He covered her with bedazzling jewels and fragrances. And what did she do? She took the blessings He had bestowed upon her and used it to whore after other lovers.

When then is a great man to do? One option is to empty himself, at least temporarily. He leaves his mansion and goes out to the byways in disheveled clothes and whatnot to see if anyone will be attracted simply to who he is at heart without the external glory. This is probably part of the reason the Messiah of Israel was born in a stable (cmp. Isa 53:2, Phil 2:5-11).

Another option, possibly in tandem with the first: He allows his place to be taken by a romantic decoy, a screening double, a honeypot, a stand-in of grandeur who gets his house, his car, his clothes, his influence, his identity, etc., all the external trappings and benefits of who he is, but not his character and personality. If the real man’s admirers fawn equally after the false prince that tells you a lot about what they really wanted from him.

I believe Scripture prophesies that Church history will present a very similar test to the Christians. Say that you could have a society truly built on Biblical values, that you could have a generous share of the abundance of the proceeds from the fertile earth promised to those who respect God’s laws, say that you could have free access to Bibles and churches and theological institutes, and say that you could enjoy the fruitfulness that flows downstream from a robust Scriptural worldview in beautiful art, music, architecture, poetry, and literature, as well as having a solid rational basis (Gen 1:16) for exploring God’s creation in science and technology. Just one catch. You don’t get a share in the Shekhinah glory of the Manifest Presence of Almighty which came upon Moses’ Tabernacle, Solomon’s Temple, and Jesus’ Pentecostal Church. In short, you can have all the best stuff that God has to offer … except for the innermost access to Himself to the fullest extent He has made Himself available for communion with His people on this present earth. Will you be happy with that deal?