Lessons from a Rose
Easter Sunday morning I was rushing to get ready for church. It’s a beautiful day and I am so. Excited. To celebrate the resurrection of Christ with part my wonderful church and part of my family. The choir is getting there early to practice one more time.
I am really excited about one more thing! Every Easter Sunday we have what we call a “Living Cross”. This is a cross that comes to life covered with fresh flowers brought and placed by the congregation. So, here is the exciting part…I have been watching my absolute favorite rose bush for weeks as it pushed brand new buds to the ends of its stems. As you can see in the picture, it is an absolutely stunning rose. One of my friends told me it is called a Joseph’s coat rose and I believe it! Each bloom has a little different combination of red, yellow, and cream. The rose should be in full bloom today…Easter Sunday, (according to my plans).
Similar to taking the first fruits into the house of the Lord (Exodus 23:19, Proverbs 3:9), I will take the first of my prized rose blooms to place on the cross.
I got everything in the car and ready to go then went to get my clippers and headed to the front of the house to choose the prettiest and biggest blooms. When I rounded the corner I saw it, well, actually I saw nothing; not a single bloom! Some of the buds that I was expecting to gather are just barely beginning to open. They aren’t fully bloomed and I don’t have time to wait! The roses are right there in front of me. I know what’s inside because they are my roses and I have seen them before. I know they would have been perfect for the job I had for them. And to me, it was an important job! Those roses were going on a cross to show the symbolism that Christ rose from the dead. The flowers show that the cross was not the end of the story. New life had bloomed through Jesus Christ. But let me say it again, they weren’t ready!
So, I went to the side of the house and cut some beautiful roses that were fully bloomed.
I hopped in the car to head to church and these words came back through my mind, “It’s a shame that those roses weren’t ready. I had such a special job for them today”.
I stopped in the driveway and knew that God was teaching me something important. Then it hit me. I have been taught a couple of scriptures since. I was young, but I have never actually experienced them in real life!
1 Peter 3:15 says, “But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect.” There it is…Always Be Ready!
2 Timothy 4:2 “Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction.” See it again? Be Ready!
As I looked at the roses on the dash of my car, I thought of these scriptures and I thought of the buds on the beautiful bush at home. I wonder how many times God has come to get me for a special, amazing job He had chosen just me and I wasn’t ready. He was sad and disappointed but the job needed to be done and so He went to someone else who was ready.
Have you ever had that happen to you? You felt God calling you to do something but you just didn’t feel like you were ready, or maybe you just didn’t want to do it, or possibly you were afraid.
But how can we always be ready?
- Every morning, greet the day with, “Good morning Lord. What do you have in store for me today?”
- Stay prayed up! How can we know God and know what His desire is for us if we don’t talk to Him? Prayer is the most important conversation of your day! 1 Thessalonians 5:17 “Pray without ceasing”.
- Study up! Learn from God’s word. Listen friends, this world that we live in now leaves us no room to be lazy in our learning and our study. Psalm 119:105, “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a lamp unto my path.”
- Listen up! Take time to listen to what God is saying. The busy-ness of the world tries to drown out the voice of God. It is our responsibility to listen carefully for His voice. Isaiah 30:21 “Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you saying, ‘This is the way, walk in it’.”
I don’t want to be like my prized roses; passed over for a job God has for me because I’m not ready. I bet you don’t either. Let’s get ready to bloom!
On a side note, my prize rose began to bloom on Monday. How sad to have missed the special job it was chosen for. But that doesn’t mean it will not be used. Today it teaches a lesson to all of us!
