All the Pretty Flowers
Every spring, my husband takes me flower shopping. We stroll through the local greenhouse, picking containers of this and that...whatever looks pretty. They all cost the same...just fill a flat for $10. Mostly annuals. I like to plant a variety of colorful annuals in my flower beds and one special corner by the stairs to the front porch.
When they're first planted, they are small and fragile and some seem to get a bit withered by the abrupt introduction to natural sunlight. Some thrive right away, spreading out and bursting forth with color, while others make slow, steady progress, until finally they blossom in rich hues of gold, yellow, red and purple. By this time of year, my flower beds are crowded and colorful.
Occasionally, I will put several flowers in large pots and set them around the deck or patio. A nice variety of color that no garden club president would ever imagine putting together. But it looks nice to my layman's eye.
But why is it that sometimes, two flowers planted side by side in the same pot grow at visibly different rates. One blooms quickly and grows tall and strong, while another seems like it hasn't grown at all. At times I think it may never bloom. Some never do, and I wonder if it's because they should have been planted in different soil, or different lighting. Maybe they've had too much shade.
I say all this to share an important life example...one that God was sharing with me this morning as we drove home from church...He showed me that His grace is the life-giving rain that falls on all of us the same. God is no respecter of persons. The grace that He lavished on the apostle Paul is the very same grace that He pours out over you and me.
We are like the flowers. The same price was paid for all of us. God rains His grace down on us all and some of us bloomed quickly and grew strong, while others of us were slow but steady growers. We may bloom in different seasons or thrive under various conditions, showing our strength and our talent in unique ways. But we all have beauty to offer the world.
No matter which pot you find yourself planted in, the best thing you can do is to bloom where you are planted. God's grace rains down for you...the Master Gardener is watching and waiting to enjoy the gorgeous blooms that you are about to bring forth. The world needs the beauty of your colors, and the pleasing aroma of your life. 2 Corinthians 2:14 calls it "the fragrance of the knowledge of Him. (15) For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing."
Be blessed. 
When they're first planted, they are small and fragile and some seem to get a bit withered by the abrupt introduction to natural sunlight. Some thrive right away, spreading out and bursting forth with color, while others make slow, steady progress, until finally they blossom in rich hues of gold, yellow, red and purple. By this time of year, my flower beds are crowded and colorful.
Occasionally, I will put several flowers in large pots and set them around the deck or patio. A nice variety of color that no garden club president would ever imagine putting together. But it looks nice to my layman's eye.
But why is it that sometimes, two flowers planted side by side in the same pot grow at visibly different rates. One blooms quickly and grows tall and strong, while another seems like it hasn't grown at all. At times I think it may never bloom. Some never do, and I wonder if it's because they should have been planted in different soil, or different lighting. Maybe they've had too much shade.
I say all this to share an important life example...one that God was sharing with me this morning as we drove home from church...He showed me that His grace is the life-giving rain that falls on all of us the same. God is no respecter of persons. The grace that He lavished on the apostle Paul is the very same grace that He pours out over you and me.
We are like the flowers. The same price was paid for all of us. God rains His grace down on us all and some of us bloomed quickly and grew strong, while others of us were slow but steady growers. We may bloom in different seasons or thrive under various conditions, showing our strength and our talent in unique ways. But we all have beauty to offer the world.
No matter which pot you find yourself planted in, the best thing you can do is to bloom where you are planted. God's grace rains down for you...the Master Gardener is watching and waiting to enjoy the gorgeous blooms that you are about to bring forth. The world needs the beauty of your colors, and the pleasing aroma of your life. 2 Corinthians 2:14 calls it "the fragrance of the knowledge of Him. (15) For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing."
In a world full of death and decay, flesh rotting away from evil, we are the sweet fragrance of Christ. Aren't you grateful? I am.
Be blessed.
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