Page 94 - Radical Love by Linda Robinson

SESSION 5 : Song of Songs 2:1-7 (NIV)

V
erse 1 of this chapter opens with the Shulamite making a

statement about being a rose of Sharon, a lily of the valleys.
Although the text says “rose,” certain commentaries state

that it is most likely just an ordinary flower or rambling rose common
to the area, which is the plain of Sharon (Sharon means “peace”) in

Judea.

By using this illustration, it is as though she is viewing herself as being
a person of no great significance, who finds herself in a place (a plain)

where nothing out of the ordinary ever happens. It is as if she is saying:
“I am nothing more than an ordinary flower in the middle of what

seems to be a never-ending plain of seeming mediocrity. Nothing of
any significance ever happens, apart from the day-to-day drudge of life.

This plain stretches for miles, with nothing to detract from its mundane

landscape or the usual cycle of life.”

Isn’t this how we can sometimes view our lives? I know that I have

been in this place. The Christian life can sometimes appear to be
nothing more than a day-to-day, uneventful “plodding on through.”

However, if we keep trusting, keep believing, keep seeking, and do not

give up—when these seasons are complete and we look back—we will
see that they were significant times of preparation for our individual

destinies to be fulfilled.

It is during these times that the character needed to support the destiny

God has for each of us is formed: steadfastness, endurance, patience,

and perseverance. This process is not instantaneous—just as the

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