Flowers of the Field will Wilt...Eventually

     My husband left a message on our kitchen "white board," (I used a picture frame with glass in it and put a typed note in the place where the picture should go, so we can write on the glass with dry erase marker and leave notes for each other) to "look at the cactus bloom." We have an Argentine Giant Cactus in our front yard that blooms in the spring for only a few days. The blooms are an amazing iridescent pink and they only last 24 hours. The blossoms open at night, so that their pollinators of choice, bats and moths, will come by for a visit and help them become fruitful and multiply (Genesis 8:17). 

     The Bible tells us in 1 Peter 1:24-25 (NIV), "For, 'All people are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord endures forever.' And this is the word that was preached to you." We can see people today who are "the flowers [that] fall" once their youthful looks and popularity fades (in the eyes of the world) they become forgotten or even ridiculed by the same people who were previously their fans. These people may be in entertainment, sports, fashion, business, etc., but when age, or something else causes them to fall from grace (due to mistakes of their own or just the whim of the crowds), they begin to fade and wither away. Blossoms, amazing and brilliant, for only a short season of their lives. 

     But this earthly view of people and their purpose and position in life is not the end of their story, or anyone else's. The Bible tells us that through Jesus Christ, we have a greater purpose and position that is not short lived, but eternal. We are immortals, not like those of the zombie or superhero nature, but rather in the heavenly realms. The Bible notes in 2 Corinthians 5:1-8, "For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling, because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked. For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. Now the one who has fashioned us for this very purpose is God, who has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come. Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. For we live by faith, not by sight. We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord."

     All that is to say, any glory we have here on earth has a matte finish compared to the glory that is coming as children of the Most High God. We need to call on Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord to bring us life, everlasting, full of purpose, and unimaginable possibility regardless of what the crowds tell us about our value, image, and destination. Our hope is in the Lord, not in this world. Revelation 4:11, tells us who deserves all the glory, "You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their beings." 

Romans 2:6-8

"God 'will repay each person according to what they have done.' To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life. But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger."

Our beautiful blooming Argentine Giant Cactus.