Last week we heard from the Song
of Solomon, or the Song of Songs, about the love God has for us. God calls us
into a garden that he has prepared for us, a garden of fruits and flowers, a
garden of life and intimacy with him: Arise, my love, my fair one, and come
away! We might think of the kingdom of God as that garden, the place where God
calls us and meets us. The kingdom of God is not just about heaven, of course.
The kingdom of God is here, now, already breaking in, already changing lives,
already setting the universe on the course of redemption and resurrection.
God’s salvation and love is for all that God has created.
This
week, and for the next few weeks, we listen to parables from Jesus about life
in the garden. And these parables, just like the Song of Solomon, can only be
understood if we accept one fundamental truth about the Bible: the Bible is
about God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The Bible is not about me; the Bible
is not about you. The Bible is about God—the Lord.
