Page 179 - Radical Love by Linda Robinson_FEB2025

SESSION 9

The pomegranate comes from a tree with scarlet flowers and deep green

leaves. The fruit itself has a brownish-yellow, tough outer skin that is
bitter to the taste, with a little crown on the top. Once cut open, it is full

of red, juicy, sweet seeds. Motifs of these fruits were used to decorate
the High Priest’s garments and the tops of the pillars in Solomon’s

temple.

The cheeks make up a large part of the face, and the face is what others
see and behold when they look at us. Our face, or countenance, is the

leading indicator of what sort of person we are. As we look into the
face of Jesus, we see with our spiritual eyes what He is like. That is

why it is essential that we spend quality time doing this.

Before Christ revealed Himself to our hearts, we were like hard,
unopened pomegranates—tough and unattractive in our natures.

Notice, however, that even in our unredeemed state, the crown was still
there. This is because before we knew Him, He still knew us. When the

Lord chooses the time to show Himself and we accept the revelation of
who He is, the tough flesh has to be cut open so that the seeds of

goodness, mercy, kindness, gentleness, self-control, joy, peace, love,

and faithfulness—all that has been planted within us by God’s Spirit—
can first be cultivated, brought to fruition, and then revealed to others

(see John 15:16).

The Shulamite has now reached this level of maturity. But notice how

He talks about her being veiled with tender meekness. She knows that

He has done this work in her, and that it is not attributable to her efforts

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