As Christians we are all at various levels in our spiritual quest to abide in God’s love;our love relationship with Christ is “alive.” When something is alive, it will grow, mature, and evolve. The Song of Solomon is an allegory of the love relationship between God and His people. Throughout the song, Solomon(who represents God)and the Shulammite maiden (who represents God’s people)have evolved into a loving, two-way relationship. This maiden’s heart was able to reciprocate the love that the shepherd bestowed upon her. She was not afraid of the shepherd, yet she was fearful of the “little foxes” and asked the shepherd to remove them, “lest they spoil our love.” These “little foxes” represent the cares of the world, the deceitfulness of materialism, power, or anything that pulls us toward the belief that we can fulfill our true destiny,and find heart rest apart from having a spiritual union with God. Because Christ is the vine and we, His people are the branches, the vineyard is the place where our connection will bring forth fruit. What fruit will be produced by a growing spiritual relationship with the living Lord? The beginning blossom…if allowed to mature and escape being spoiled by the “foxes”…will bring forth fruits of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, self-control, and faith. These fruits of the Spirit will give evidence, that we have a growing, living relationship with the Lord!

“My beloved shepherd said to me, ‘O my dove, [while you are here] in the seclusion of the clefts in the solid rock, in the sheltered and secret place of the cliff, let me see your face, let me hear your voice; for your voice is sweet, and your face is lovely. [My heart was touched and I fervently sang to him my desire] Take for us the foxes; the little foxes that spoil the vineyards [of our love] for our vineyards are in blossom'”(Song of Solomon 2:14b-15).