Page 97 - Radical Love by Linda Robinson

RADICAL LOVE

will passionately love you in return and will manifest my life within

you.”

We need to be aware of God’s love for each one of us, for real spiritual

growth to be possible.

At this present moment in the text, the Shulamite maiden is a sincere,

yet still immature, believer. Yes, she has tasted and seen that the Lord

is good, and she desires to know Him more—but her desire is still
primarily for her own pleasure. She is still unaware of the excellence

of who she really is since giving her life to the Shepherd, and
furthermore, she does not yet see herself fully as He sees her.

The second part of this verse talks about being a lily of the valley. Lilies
are extremely fragrant—so much so that the strength of their scent can

affect people, either positively or negatively. The Bible tells us that to

some, we are a sweet-smelling aroma, but to others, the stench of death.

Lilies can take up to seven years to bloom and are among the tallest

plants compared to other flowers. They are a symbol of purity and
moral excellence and were used as ornate decorations on the pillars in

Solomon’s temple. The lily is also a very fruitful flower, capable of

producing up to 50 pods. Note that 50 also represents the Year of
Jubilee—when everything returns back to its rightful owner.

When we accepted Jesus as Lord and Saviour, we also moved away
from being slaves to sin and self, to become slaves of God under the

headship of our rightful owner—Jesus!

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