Issue 853 – Budding Beauty – September 13, 2022
When Kathy and I visited the Fraser River Historic Park in Mission last week, we took in the rose garden. Despite the unseasonably warm weather, most roses were doing well and blooming.
It was an impressive showing. I don’t know how many roses bushes were there, but I took photos of sampling, and I have 25 different ones. I suspect there were at least one hundred different varieties of rose. The scent of roses in the air smelt heavenly to me but reminded Kathy of a funeral home.
Some of my photos include full blooms, others just buds. This one of a partially opened bud shows off its potential.
People can be compared to roses in numerous ways, not the least of which is we all have some thorny defensive systems. Some of those thorns may be healthy, while others are unhealthy coping mechanisms we have used successfully in the past.
Like rose buds, we are just beginning to show our potential beauty.
Once we become Christians, the Holy Spirit dwells in us and begins the laborious work of growing spiritual fruit.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Galatians 5:22-24
It is beautiful to watch the Spirit transforming us. Still like the partially opened bud, we don’t yet see our true beauty unveiled.
When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.
1 Corinthians 13:11-12
My friends, we believers have a beauty unappreciated by the world. We may or not be physically beautiful in the eyes of the world, but we are the beloved children of the King. That gives us an internal beauty to be seen by those with the eyes to see.
That beauty will continue to grow until we are glorified in the presence of the Lord. Then we will be fully conformed into the image of Jesus.
We won’t all physically look like Jesus; after all, He created every one of us differently. We will all resemble Him in character and love, and that will be something worth seeing.
Look past the physical, my friends. Look to the inner beauty of the Bride of Christ and rejoice.
Be blessed
Hallelu Yah
Praise God
Kevin
Gleanings From The Word
Experience an extraordinary God in ordinary life.
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All contents, “Gleanings From The Word” and “Experience an Extraordinary God in Ordinary Life” are © 2001, 2020 K.F. “Kevin” Corbin Gleanings From The Word.
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture is from the English Standard Version (ESV).
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