September 25
Growing the Garden of Love
Song of Solomon 5-8/Mark 4-6
OT
5:1 Young Man: I am here in my garden, my treasure, my bride! I gather my myrrh with my spices and eat my honeycomb with my honey. I drink my wine with my milk. Young Women of Jerusalem: Oh, lover and beloved, eat and drink! Yes, drink deeply of this love!
NT
4:10-11 Later, when Jesus was alone with the twelve disciples and with the others who were gathered around, they asked him, “What do your stories mean?” He replied, “You are permitted to understand the secret about the Kingdom of God. But I am using these stories to conceal everything about it from outsiders.”
OT Flash Points
Lovers consummating & dedicating their love for each other
Excluding all other opinions
NT Flash Points
The scattered seed – the Message of God
The multiplication – crop of the Kingdom
The Farmer, Jesus, planting the Message of God
Healing, etc – thrusting some into hard ground
Hardly any effort needed in the fertile soil of the needy
Perspective
Feeding the seed, growing the crop
Bearing the fruit
Multiplication, proof of a living organism