Luke 12:27 "Consider how the lilies grow. They do not labour or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these.
Spring is just around the corner, and the reason I know that with certainty is not because of the calendar, or phases of the moon. The reason I know for sure that spring is on its way is because of one thing that has interrupted my life in the last week – sneezing! I have always suffered from bad hay fever, and even had two years of treatment every month where I was injected with a concoction of pollen in small doses to try and desensitise my nose and body. I can remember being on a farm a few years ago down at Mt Gambier during hay making season. My hay fever was so bad I couldn’t even leave the house.
So this past week I had a day when my nose started to twitch, and I began to sneeze and I knew immediately there was pollen in the air. My body is so finely attuned to it. Once I registered the change, I then began to notice all the beautiful blossom that has boldly sprouted forth, even in the face of ongoing cold and rain. The beautiful whites and pinks of the ornamental plum and pear trees that line the streets on my drive in to work each day. And so I have been “considering the flowers of the field” and thinking about their beauty and what they can teach me.
Most flowers are delicate and soft, emerging for just a few short days, bringing us joy, beauty, and hope for the summer to come. But they are incredibly fragile as well, and within a week their soft petals will be strewn across the road and in the gutter, turning into brown slush – humus. But Jesus tells us there is much to learn from humble flowers. Why put so much effort into such beauty, which lasts such a short time? On a practical level, we can just write it off as the need to attract bees for pollination so the plant can reproduce. However, I think there is more to it than that. God, the divine artist, has woven incredible beauty into something that could be more practical. Partly I think so that we could appreciate it; that we could find joy and hope coming out of our dark winters. And partly to show that God is so infinitely good and creative as he clothes the flowers.
Jesus says that despite their short life and inevitable return to the dust, these flowers are more beautiful and amazing than the richest greatest king who ever lived, and all the gold and treasures he possessed. He too and all his “stuff” would return to the dust or be taken away by others. However, Jesus in stopping on the side of the road and pointing out the flowers to the disciples is a reminder that God is good, that we can put our trust in him, that we worry about far too much. If that is the care he gives to flowers, then we can trust that he also cares for us, and that even in our dark seasons of life there is hope that beauty and new life can, and will emerge.
This week as you drive around or look at your garden, take time to notice the flowers. If your nose starts to fizz and you sneeze, then remember the flowers and consider the love and care and goodness of God, not just to them but also to you whatever circumstance you find yourself in. And as you notice the flowers, remember that God loves you and delights in you and will always be with you. He is good and he calls us to surrender our worries and cares to him and take time to reflect and notice his presence, and to find hope in his resurrection life.
Grace and Peace - Garry