Our time on this planet is fleeting, but it MATTERS!
Spring is here! Fruit trees are in full blossom. Flowers are bursting from the ground with their vivid colors. The lilacs are starting to open their heavily scented inflorescences.
I. LOVE. IT!
This is by far my favorite season.
Regrowth.
Rebirth.
Rejuvenation.
Bright, bold colors exploding all around after a dark gloomy winter.
And the air perfumed with the most tantalizing fragrances.
BLISS!
Then before I know it, the color begins to wash out of the flowers. They grow pale. Droop, hanging their heads.
All too soon the ground is littered with petals. A pallid reminder of what they once were.
It’s sad.
But in a way, it’s really not.
See, once the petals fall, the work begins. The work of forming, growing, and maturing seeds to produce another strong generation.
Did you know that’s the whole point of a flower?
Their exciting beauty is momentary, but it’s not without purpose. It’s there to attract pollinators so they CAN produce the seeds needed to produce the future generation.
But while the flowers are here, in their prime, God also uses them
- To remind us Spring is here; Winter is over!
- To reinstall hope in our hearts
- To elicit our diligent workmanship
- To keep our eye on the future harvest.
- To give us joy
- To help us recall our own renewal, rebirth, rejuvenation
Every time I hear Psalm 106:15-16 referenced it’s in regard to the fact that my time here is short. That I’m a speck on a timeline. That I’m “not all that.”
That in the grand scheme of things, I’m not important.
This is all true, with the exception of the last part, but that’s not why I chose these verses to memorize this week.
But before I get into the why, let me quickly explain why I believe we are important.
If we weren’t important
- God wouldn’t know us by name.
- Christ wouldn’t have suffered through all that brutality to offer us the gift of salvation and extend the invitation to spend eternity with Him.
- He wouldn’t have given us a purpose, a calling, while we’re here.
- He wouldn’t have give us spiritual gifts to carry out that call.
- He wouldn’t pursue us with His relentless love
- He wouldn’t lavish us with His grace and mercy!
FRIEND, WE ARE IMPORTANT!
And because we’re important, OUR TIME ON EARTH MATTERS!
This is why I chose these verses.
As Christians, we are to spread and share the fragrance of our faith to attract others to Jesus AND encourage or spiritual brothers and sisters to grow.
But thank God! He has made us his captives and continues to lead us along in Christ’s triumphal procession. Now he uses us to spread the knowledge of Christ everywhere, like a sweet perfume. Our lives are a Christ-like fragrance rising up to God. But this fragrance is perceived differently by those who are being saved and by those who are perishing. To those who are perishing, we are a dreadful smell of death and doom. But to those who are being saved, we are a life-giving perfume. And who is adequate for such a task as this? 2 Corinthians 2:14-16
We can share the hope of renewal and rejuvenation through Christ
Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a loyal spirit within me. Psalms 51:10
This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! 2 Corinthians 5:17
We can develop and nurture seeds of faith to plant in the hearts of others and the next generation
I always thank my God when I pray for you, Philemon, because I keep hearing about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all of God’s people. And I am praying that you will put into action the generosity that comes from your faith as you understand and experience all the good things we have in Christ. Your love has given me much joy and comfort, my brother, for your kindness has often refreshed the hearts of God’s people. Philemon 1:4-7
O my people, listen to my instructions.
Open your ears to what I am saying,
for I will speak to you in a parable.
I will teach you hidden lessons from our past—
stories we have heard and known,
stories our ancestors handed down to us.
We will not hide these truths from our children;
we will tell the next generation
about the glorious deeds of the Lord ,
about his power and his mighty wonders.
For he issued his laws to Jacob;
he gave his instructions to Israel.
He commanded our ancestors
to teach them to their children,
so the next generation might know them—
even the children not yet born—
and they in turn will teach their own children.
So each generation should set its hope anew on God,
not forgetting his glorious miracles
and obeying his commands.
Then they will not be like their ancestors—
stubborn, rebellious, and unfaithful,
refusing to give their hearts to God.
Psalms 78:1-8
Join me this week in writing these verses on your heart and allowing them to form the pavement under your feet as you follow Christ.
Blessings, xoxo
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