Inclosed part 1
I quoted these verses and mentioned this concept a little ways back, and I think that's what got me fired up on this path we're on about gardening. Song of Solomon 4:12, "A garden inclosed is my sister, my spouse; a spring shut up, a fountain sealed." To me, that just lays it out for us. God put us IN a garden (the finished work, the garden of Eden), but He also put the garden (the finished work) in us! A garden planted in the garden. So even when God sent man out of the garden of Eden... that didn't disqualify us from being who we are. Wherever you go, there you are, right? In the same way, we ARE the righteousness of God in Christ. That's our identity. Not just what we do, but who we are. And even when we mess up we remain who we are. On your worst day you are still the righteousness of God in Christ. On your worst day, you are still God's garden. And that distinction is important. GOD'S garden. He is the true Gardener, right? His garden is HIS responsibility. HE is the one who planted it, HE is the one who prunes it. "For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth" (Hebrews 12:6). We have to get to a place in our lives where we're not afraid of a little chastening and correcting. "If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whome the father chasteneth not?" (Hebrews 12:7). The pruning may not be the most comfortable thing in the world, but for the garden to grow and be prosperous and bring forth that good fruit. Which, by the way, Song of Solomon spends a decent amount of time actually listing. I'm not going to do the whole deal here, for sake of time and space, but the point is: This garden that we are--GOD'S garden--is chock full of goodies; pomegranates, pleasant fruits, camphire, spikenard, just to name a few. But this is where it gets good. This is going to be the thrust of this Rant series for the next few days: "Awake, O north wind; and come, thou south; blow upon my garden, that the spices thereof may flow out. Let my beloved come into his garden, and eat his pleasant fruits" (SOS 4:16). I love this so much. The wind--which is the Holy Spirit--blowing through the garden and stirring up everything that's in there so that what's inside... comes out. So that the garden inclosed, the spring shut up, the fountain sealed... can be open. That, to me, is keeping your heart with all diligence. Keeping it open. Keeping it open to love. Not shutting down, or "protecting" yourself. Listen, I know life happens. I know that once you've been burned it's hard to get close to the fire ever again. I understand all that. Intimately. But having said that... God's love is the fire. And it burns away everything but itself. A Holy Ghost wildfire that feeds on itself (Himself) and grows and grows and grows like the burning bush Moses saw in the desert that burned but was not consumed. Like the three Hebrew boys in Pharoh's furnace who were joined by a fourth man who looked just like the Son of God! The fire doesn't hurt us, it purifies us. We come out stronger on the other side. So, again, don't be afraid if the Gardener wants to get rid of some of the stuff in HIS garden. When that wind starts to blow it may just blow some unnecessary stuff right out of you. Don't hold on to things you don't need. Let go and let God. You'll find that you're so much better off without all that clutter and junk. You won't be weighed down. You'll be light. Happy. Free. Free to love. Free to live. Free to experience the abundant, everlasting, eternal, Resurrection Life of God that is His gift to you. From Father to Son. From Gardener to garden!