Dec. 11th - A Flower - Song of solomon 2:1
"I am the rose of Sharon, The lily of the valleys."
Our God is a God of surprises, God of the
unexpected. We cannot try to put Him in a box.
You also may be surprised about
this Bible verse if you have never read it in context in your Bible and only
heard the hymn. In context of the Scripture the
line - "I am the rose of
Sharon, the lily of the valleys." is spoken by the young
woman, Solomon's bride. Then Solomon replies - "Like a lily among the thorns, So is my
darling among the maidens." in verse 2. The whole book is a love story
depicting Christ's love for His Bride, the Church, and His Bride's love for
Him.
This young woman stood out among
others not only because of her outer beauty, but because of the fragrance and
beauty of her life that was changed by his love for her which in return caused
her love for him to bloom. Isn't that what God's love does in
us? He loves us with such a great love in sending His One and Only Son
that our lives may be changed, that we may be rescued, and in return our love
for Him blooms! His beauty becomes reflected in and through our lives as
a flower in full bloom.
In Luke 12:27-28, Jesus speaks of
lilies also -
"Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; but I tell you, not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. "But if God so clothes the grass in the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, how much more will He clothe you? You men of little faith!"
How often we take God's love for
granted. How often we forget how great it is! How often we put Him
in a box and forget He can do the unexpected! He can do the impossible!
"And looking at them Jesus said to them, "With people this is impossible, but with God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26
God's love changes
everything. When Jesus was born, God did the impossible. He stepped
out of eternity into time. He took on flesh and became like us. (John 1:14) Then He took our
death, our punishment, and died. But on that third day...again the
impossible happened...the unexpected...He arose! Because of the Cross there is a
Christmas. Because of His death there is a new birth. Because
of the beauty of God's great love for us, there is hope!
Living out this Christmas Devotion:
So even though it's winter...look
for the flowers. Even though you may be struggling through a very
difficult season, look for the beauty of His love. He is there. He
is near.
James 4:8 says - "Draw near to God and He will draw near to
you." But it continues - "Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you
double-minded."
Don't let the second half of this
verse keep you from the first. Our human pride wants to rise up when His
Word refers to us as sinners and needing cleansing. Our human doubt wants
us to focus only on the surrounding circumstances and be drawn away from our
First Love - Jesus.
The only way to draw near to God
though is to first turn around! The word "repent" is not
negative! It means there is hope because we can turn around from going
the wrong way, away from God, and we can turn back to Him...all because of the
Christ Child born on the first Christmas day!
Find His beauty today. Look
for Him. He promises that if we seek Him with all our heart, He will be
found! (Jeremiah
29:13)
There lies the beauty of His love
like an unexpected flower in full bloom - HOPE!
Hentet fra:
Ingen kommentarer:
Legg inn en kommentar