Companion of the Garden
by Lynn Mosher
(Louisville, KY)
In ancient times, when a Persian king wanted to present a special honor on one of his citizens, he granted the citizen the status of being a companion in his garden, which gave the citizen the privilege of walking in the garden as a special friend of the king.
In the beginning, God granted man the privilege of being His companion and walking with Him in His indescribably, beautiful paradise garden, which He created for man's first home. It contained no thorny buses, no stones of obstruction, no offensive weeds, and no broken stumps. All was perfect for man's delight...to walk in the garden with his Maker.
When sin entered the garden and broke this companionship, it was necessary to bring man back into fellowship with his Maker. Through the salvation Jesus offered on the cross, man was brought back into perfect union with the Lord. This is now heaven's delight. How sweet is that companionship that we can now enjoy, walking in an atmosphere of fellowship with our Beloved that can be compared to a garden?
Solomon wrote so intimately about his loving relationship with the Shulamite in the Song of Solomon, which not only represents a husband and wife but also represents the church as the bride and Solomon as the Lord our Bridegroom.
The Lord says of us as Solomon said of his precious bride, "You are like a private garden, my treasure, my bride! You are like a spring that no one else can drink from, a fountain of my own." (SOS 4:12 NLT)
The Shulamite said, "I am my beloved's garden and my beloved is mine!" (SOS 6:3a Amp) She told her beloved, "You are a fountain springing up in a garden, a well of living waters, and flowing streams...You have called me a garden, she said...blow upon my garden, that its spices may flow out in abundance for you in whom my soul delights. Let my beloved come into his garden and eat its chicest fruits." (SOS 4:15-16 Amp)
Songs of the garden have always been in man's heart. Charles Austin Miles penned a more recent song in 1913 when he wrote the words and music to the beautiful hymn In the Garden. His inspiration for the hymn came after reading the biblical account of Mary Magdalene and the others visiting the tomb of Jesus. He wrote these tender words...
"I come to the garden alone
While the dew is still on the roses
And the voice I hear, falling on my ear
The Son of God discloses
And He walks with me
And He talks with me
And He tells me I am His own
And the joy we share as we tarry there
None other has ever known"
I wonder...am I that resplendent garden that my Beloved loves to visit? Am I a lovely, fragrant garden, full of sweet-scented blossoms, or am I a patch of stink-weed?
When I visit my Beloved in His garden, thrilling my soul in His presence, He walks with me and talks with me, as He tells me I am His own. "And the joy we share as we tarry there None other has ever known."
