| |
There is a scraggly rose bush in my yard, most of which is dead or dying, its leaves splotchy with disease,
but a branch struggles to stay alive. Off and on all summer it continues to put out shoots and pink blooms.
I’ve been sure that the plant was a goner more than once, but it surprises me and I find delight in every single rose.
They even have that delicate fragrance.
I can relate to
my rose bush. Because of sin it seems my life is a continual struggle
to bloom where God has planted me.
Disease, disaster, and death all
plague my existence. There are days I would droop and succumb if the
sap of the Spirit,
the very life of my Savior wasn’t sustaining me.
Without God’s grace I’d wither and die, in spirit if not in body.
I
lift my face to the sky, to my Jesus who is the Sun and light of my
soul, and reach upward,
not by any determination within myself, but
simply because that is how my Creator made me—to love and seek Him.
Perhaps the resulting flowers will bless someone just as the lovely
pink roses bring a smile to my face.
And yes, my rose bush has thorns, but I don’t notice them unless I attempt to prune it, cutting off the dead twigs.
My life is thorny as well, for I am a flawed person with less than desirable traits.
God is the Pruner, taking away the dead stuff in me and I trust that one day the thorns will also be gone.
He’s promised, “I will make all things new,” and I believe that includes me, His prized plant.
When sin is no more there will be no more thorns, and I will be changed in a moment.
God will transplant me to His garden above for He delights in the unique roses of my bush, the work of His hands.
To bloom for my Jesus and Father is what I was created for.
"The plants and flowers grow not by their own care or anxiety or effort,
but by receiving that which God has furnished to minister to their life.
In the matchless gift of His Son, God has encircled the whole world with an atmosphere of grace
as real as the air which circulates around the globe. All who choose to breathe this life-giving atmosphere
will live and grow up to the stature of men and women in Christ Jesus.
As the flower turns to the sun, that the bright beams may aid in perfecting its beauty and symmetry,
so should we turn to the Sun of Righteousness, that heaven’s light may shine upon us,
that our character may be developed into the likeness of Christ.”
Step to Christ 68
|
