But this HUGE blooming bush seemed unaware that soon a bull dozer would ruthlessly destroy it . It was blooming within every inch of itself, even though no one was there to enjoy it , and it is probably the last summer of its life.. Ohh ! would that we were so faithful and so oblivious to the threats around us !! Just to keep blooming as long as we have life !
and I was thinking .... as I looked at this bush and at some of my favorite flowers blooming in my baskets and flower beds.........
.... I was thinking ...... WHY did God make flowers?? They really have no practical purpose for life.....we can't eat them.
Psalm 86:12 says,
"I will praise You, O Lord my God, with all my heart, And I will glorify Your name forevermore."
.... I was thinking ...... WHY did God make flowers?? They really have no practical purpose for life.....we can't eat them.
It seems they were created simply for us to enjoy !! And isn't it interesting ? That people who have had vegetable gardens all their life...even after they give up growing food .. they hold on to their flower beds and pots.
Why did God make flowers? here are the reasons that came to my mind.
1. He loves the perfection of beauty.
2. He loves infinite detail.
3. He loves variety.
4. He delights in their beautiful faces held up to Him in simple worship !
and I thought... there is a fifth reason.....
I think God made the flowers to remind us that His very favorite flowers are the people He created for His glory -- infinite in detail, unlimited in variety and in unique perfection of beauty. BUT ... do WE delight to hold up our faces to Him in worship? and do we bloom to glorify Him where ever we are ?
Psalm 86:12 says,
"I will praise You, O Lord my God, with all my heart, And I will glorify Your name forevermore."
As we enjoy our season of endless flowering beauty around us, let us be reminded of how much God loves us . He created each one of us, fashioned with the same infinite care as the smallest flower... each of us unique - created for His purposes and delight !
15 comments:
and so. . let us bloom where we are planted. .
Lovely photos Julie. Thank you for the reminder of why God gave us flowers. I think of the hymns that speak of the garden of prayer.
Julie, YOU were there to enjoy that amazingly beautiful flowering shrub...I almost didn't see you hiding there among the blooms. What an extravagant display; yes, God certainly does shower us with extravagance in every flower and tree and, and, and...! The wonderful fragrance of so many kinds of flowers is what I love best about them....more unnecessary extravagance!
I so enjoyed this post. You know, it saddens me and I think it's tremendous pity that the spectacular bush will soon be razed to the ground. If only the development would preserve it, or move it to another spot on the property (if that is possible).
Your flower pics are so pretty....and your reasons for the creation of flowers are valid, I believe. It is obvious that God wanted us to be surrounded by His natural beauty. That is why He placed the first humans in a garden, n'est pas?
I like your insight, as always, Julie. Let us all lift our faces to smile at God...
Isn't it great that we have a God who will cause Indian Paintbrush to bloom up in a high Meadow where probably no one will see it. But beauty is all around God. Just his presence brings this blessings. Great post.
I love your posts and today's especially. Your pics were great too. Hmmmm....God knows what we need to keep our souls satisfied and even overflowing. For we need to be reminded of the beauty of his creations...often we forget the miracle of it all too. He knows that we are humanly stimulated to worship...and so He started mankind IN a garden.
Julie, when I see flowers, I see the verse "be fruitful and multiply...." being fulfilled. God's directive to everything and every ONE in the Garden of Eden was to be fruitful and to multiply. Flowers are simply the sexual part of any plant, the part that allows more plants to be made. The leaves, stems, roots sustain the plants, but the only time a plant is actually obeying God when it make a flower so it can be fruitful and multiply.
It blows me away to think that all God wanted from creation was that it would join Him in being creative, via re-creation, to the point that the earth was covered in the multiplication.
Each flower has the potential of creating countless more plants, just as each human has the cells within them to created hundreds of children as well, just like flowers.
I'll let you mull this over...and blush a bit the next time you read about a guy giving his girl a big old bouquet of flowers.
This was a beautiful post. I loved the huge flowering bush.
And I picked a petal off a beautifully colored pinkish red rose at our friend's place the other day and ate it.
I told our friends that you can in fact eat rose petals-thinking of a salad I've seen with the petals sprinkled on it.
And so taking that sweet "looking" petal I ate it. It actually wasn't that sweet, but bitter. Blah!
Maybe only the red ones are tasty? hmm...
A long time ago I once heard that you can tell the mood of a community by the landscaping of the front yards. The happier well adjusted community the more flowers you will see. During a depression or recession you will see very few flowers. I've kept this in mind as I've gone through life and found it to be true.
what a beautiful post. i love your pictures. i believe that God created flowers simply for his children to enjoy as well. isn't God such a loving God!!!!
I agree that our joyful delight in them shows us our godliness, however they actually are more than just pretty. They are the root of our food chain and are "interested" in their own survival. We are all dependent on the other. God has equal love for all of God's creations and we are mistaken to assume all is here for us...God loves animals==they play, feel joy, feel pain and fear, grieve, remember, show great affection for their young....yet we humans say "God, created animals for us.." so now we slaughter and dispose of them like slaves...when they in fact more and more show they have their own feelings, their own identification with family...God made us stewards...not consumers...We are here to protect and serve not devour and conquer. I'm afraid that God is waiting for us to grow up and stop slaughtering and eating innocent lives as well as fiercly protecting all of his life forms..which in his heart...have equal weight and value...be it a flower or a person.
God is a nasty prick.
James, I read your post from June 23, 2008 about flowers in creation. Thanks. I never heard that about flowers being a sign of mental well being. Bud, Los Angeles, CA
I love the story of the flowers! Do you think I can post that story in my website? Of course giving credit to you :)
Jasmin .. yes, you may post that story in your website if you kindly credit it back to me. Thank you for your interest ! God bless ... julie
I believe that God created flowers to, amongst other; provide color, fragrance and healing power (herbs) for our benefit. Just imagine life without these gifts. He gave them to enhance our lives. ( As always!!)
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