There’s nothing more calming than walking through a shamba (field) with green grass and pretty flowers . . . I hope you agree! So I found it curious the other day when I stumbled across a verse that describes people as grass and flowers.
“All men are like grass, and all their faithfulness is like the flowers of the field.”
Isa 40:6b NIV
That we are like grass—here today and gone tomorrow—wasn’t new to me. What I found surprising is that we are as faithful as the flowers. Now it so happens that there’s a pretty flower at home that blooms on its own schedule. Sometimes it opens up, while other times it remains closed all day. One flower could be in bloom today, while the one right next to it remains closed. When it does open up though, it is so pretty that I could admire it all day. However, there doesn’t seem to be a sure pattern to indicate when it will open, or how long it will stay open.
Thinking of myself as being unfaithful—even with all the effort I put in towards seeking God—came as a bit of a shocker. You see, I very often forget that the effort I make to seek God and learn His ways does not make me righteous. Only being covered by the blood of Jesus makes me righteous. My good acts or attempts to follow a set of rules cannot bring me anywhere close to God, because I would have to be perfect 100% of the time. An impossible feat!
Relationship, not rules, is what gets me into God’s presence.
Which makes me think how wonderful it is that God made a provision that allows us to approach Him in a way that is fitting of His stature as the Almighty, Holy God! Without Jesus as our Way, there is absolutely no other way we could ever come anywhere close to God.
Today then I’m reminded to say, “Thank You, Jesus, for making a way for me to have a relationship with a holy God!”
“But God demonstrated His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
Romans 5:8 NIV
Perhaps every time we walk by a flower it should serve as a reminder to give thanks for Jesus’s precious gift to us . . .
