Eat, O friends! Drink, yes, drink deeply, O beloved ones! ~Song of Solomon 5:1 NKJV

Multiplication. Some kids relish practicing their times tables. Me? Not so much. But garden multiplication? Well, that’s another story.

By the time I ran out of fingers on which to count, I was lost. But there is a multiplication that I do love. In fact, I relish it. It is garden multiplication. We see it in Song of Solomon 5:1. Believers are the Bride of Christ, and our love story affects those around us.

Have you ever tried to hide a teenage crush? It’s not doable. Our faces give away our secret desires; our longings cannot be hidden. Believers and our Beloved are married, and our love story is on display, affecting others. Multiplication happens because of this garden exchange. The blessing doesn’t remain exclusive but affects everyone in our sphere of influence. Because we commune deeply, so do our friends.

Smack dab in the middle of this love exchange, we and Beloved address the audience, encouraging them to share in the garden delights. In tandem, Beloved and we say, “Eat, O friends! Drink deeply, O beloved ones!” This seems an inconvenient place to drop that dialogue. But it is there. Our garden retreat is growing flowers and souls. The dialogue invites us to fall deeply and without reservation in love with our Beloved. Perhaps knowing our love story affects others helps seal our desire.

Although we feel this way, how does Beloved feel? He emphasizes what is most important to Him through the interconnectedness of the words He speaks. For instance, “myrrh” relates to “spices,” “honey” is connected to the “honeycomb,” “wine” is connected to “milk,” and so forth. This underscores Beloved’s desire for spiritual unity.

This dialogue in Song 5:1 becomes fuel to spend quality time with our Bridegroom, adoring Him without an agenda. As we have our quiet times, let’s read the Bible, study, and pray, but let’s also include the garden time we see in this passage. Beloved wants us to hang out with Him and enjoy His presence. And remember, our love story wins souls. Everybody knows when we are truly in love because we can’t hide our deep desire for our Beloved.

In Song 7:11-13, we tell Him we want to work the vineyards and fields of the village so we can give Him “love.” Simply stated, this translates as “brides.” These are people we influence. This is garden multiplication at its best. When we offer souls to Beloved, He considers it a most treasured gift.

Friend, we won’t take earthly possessions with us to heaven, but we will meet these souls whom we’ve won for the kingdom. As we cultivate this garden exchange, where we delight in spending time with our Bridegroom, garden multiplication of souls naturally happens. And that’s a multiplication worth cultivating.

Fall in love with Beloved so you can lead others to Him.

My Beloved Bridegroom, help me to prioritize our garden times together. I know souls will come into Your kingdom as they see we are truly in love. Cultivate our love. I delight in our garden times. Thank You for our love. Amen.

Genre: Non-fiction

Copyright 2021: Garden Multiplication: Diane Virginia: All Rights Reserved