15 Perhaps the reason he was separated from you for a little while was that
you might have him back forever— 16 no longer as a slave, but better than a slave, as a dear brother. He
is very dear to me but even dearer to you, both as a fellow man and as a brother
in the Lord. 17 So if you consider me a partner, welcome him as you would welcome me. 18 If he has done you any wrong or owes you anything, charge it to me.
12 You are a garden locked up, my sister, my bride;
you are a spring enclosed, a sealed fountain.
13 Your plants are an orchard of pomegranates
with choice fruits,
with henna and nard,
14 nard and saffron,
calamus and cinnamon,
with every kind of incense tree,
with myrrh and aloes
and all the finest spices.
15 You are[a] a garden fountain,
a well of flowing water
streaming down from Lebanon.
She
16 Awake, north wind,
and come, south wind!
Blow on my garden,
that its fragrance may spread everywhere.
Let my beloved come into his garden
and taste its choice fruits.
Cultivating Love
Song of Songs 4:12-16
Good relationships are like a beautiful garden. They don't just happen automatically. A garden that is taken care of takes a lot of work. Plants need to be watered and cultivated. Those plants will thrive and produce many flowers and fruit. It takes time and effort.
If we do not take time to spend time in God's word and let it affect us, we cannot grow. We need to pray and keep up our relationship with God. We need to keep our relationship with others in Church.
Most people don't know how much you read your Bible, but they do know how you treat them. They know if you love them. They can see God transforming you through your actions. We need to be actively and purposely determined in our actions.
Through ordinary moments of love, we can show God's love. We can make the time to speak to someone in our church whom we haven't spoken to before.
“[19] We love because he first loved us. ”
1 John 4:19 ESV
We can remember that it is God who loved us first and helps us love one another.
