Page 100 - Radical Love by Linda Robinson_FEB2025
P. 100

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 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 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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