Page 225 - Radical Love by Linda Robinson

RADICAL LOVE

Hands represent faith in action, and myrrh represents suffering. As I

meditated on this verse, I gained a sense of the pain she endured to
surrender her heart even further to the Lord. It was a costly sacrifice.

The liquid myrrh was dripping all over the handles of the lock as she
set her will to her Beloved’s wishes and unlocked the door to her heart

in order to enter into a deeper work of the cross in her life.

However, her Beloved was no longer there. He had seemingly gone.
This could be seen as further identification with Jesus—as He hung on

the cross and no longer experienced the presence of the Father.

Do you remember how the Bridegroom withdrew from her on another

occasion? She had refused His offer to arise and go away with Him in

Chapter 2:17, and suffered great heartache as a result. In Chapter 3:4,
she made a vow never to be feeble again, having forgotten that,

however well-intentioned, it is the grace of God alone that gives us the
courage to follow—not our own zeal.

This utterance, although sincerely meant, was not of the Spirit but of

the flesh, and the flesh profits nothing, as we see from her inability to
surrender once again. The message here is that we need to guard our

hearts against spiritual pride.

We are where we are in our Christian walk by grace alone.

As we read verse 6, we can sense her absolute horror and desperation
as she tries every method she knows to be reunited with her

Bridegroom. This is all part of God's greater plan because, in verse 7,

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