LIKE A RED-RED ROSE....

My home has a showcase flower bed that's packed with roses, including this brilliant red one named “Mr. Lincoln.” I am in no way qualified to rave on and on about hybrid roses. I just know the rose-bed that my husband had planted before we were married is a beautiful thing to behold. Especially this bush of red blooms reminds me of a famed poem by Robert Burns (1759-1796), titled “My Love is Like a Red-Red Rose.” He did other works which led to his reputation as the “national poet” of Scotland. If, at New Year's time you sing “Auld Lang Syne,” that's also a Burns work.

Although he's known in history as a Scottish poet, he was also infamous for his love life. He reportedly had at least twelve children by four separate mothers, seven of those children illegitimate. Historians also highlight his rebellion against morality and orthodox religion. But 250 years later, a little poem about a red rose and love is still around.*

The reputation of red roses pre-dates Burns' poetry, with the flowers symbolizing love, fidelity, passion, respect, and admiration.  As early as the third century AD, a thorn-less red rose was said to represent the virgin Mary for her purity, love for God, and motherly sacrifice. (Oddly, some early Christians were warned against planting red roses as they were reportedly a symbol of paganism!) In the 1500s in England, a “war” between royal families fighting for control of England was symbolized by white roses (House of York) and red roses (House of Lancaster). There's more...and if you're curious just go to this site: What Do Red Roses Mean? Symbolism, Spirituality & History

In our times, the saying “Bloom where you are planted” encourages people to make the best of their current circumstances. Our lives may have chapters that are difficult and simply not fun--"thorny," to continue the rose analogy. But instead of our fighting or complaining about them, God's way is to work through them and bring glory to Him through how they hone our character for good. In writing that, I inevitably go back to the humble wisdom expressed by Joseph of the Old Testament, an abused-brother-turned-slave-turned-royal-official in Egypt, who declared to his once-treacherous brothers: “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good” (Genesis 50:20).

So, how can I connect a famous (and mushy) red-rose poem by a morally wayward Scotsman to life today? Maybe to get past the color symbolism, and to the basics of what “blooming” entails. The rose bloom is connected to the branch, which is connected to the root. And for believers in Christ, being “rooted” in Christ is the way—the only way—to bloom forth the beauty of His character. Burns, not known as a "man of faith," had problems with “real love” as he indulged in passion with many women. We have a Savior who loves us with absolute purity and the all-out sacrifice offered at a criminal punishment hill called Golgotha. One where crude execution crosses were stained....with red.

This spring I planted a rose where one had died. A red one. First one I saw at the hardware store plant display. Its name: "Forever Yours."  So appropriate in memory of my rose-grower husband. Its first blooms popped June 6 (to quote Burns' poem: "that sweetly blooms in June"....).

*The full text of the poem (and a commentary) can be found here: https://www.scottishpoetrylibrary.org.uk/poem/red-red-rose/

EXAM TIME

It was time again to separate the weeds from the flowers, and toss the unwanted, wild greenery into the garbage bin. As I went through the routine of yard-work chores, I thought of how God does the same with those who seek to follow Him wholeheartedly. Like earth's rogue grasses, thistles, horsetails, and dandelions, there are spiritual faith-chokers that need removal so the soil of our souls can nourish the blossoms of godliness. Maybe, for this, we could use the term “eternal exams.”

Of course, the word "exams" takes me down memory lane to my education, especially college. The academic semester was full of lectures, papers, quizzes and such to convey information and evaluate how students were taking it in. With finals at the semester's end, two groups of students emerged: those who passed, and those who didn't. There were flowers (who bloomed through acquisition of knowledge) and weeds (those who slunk through without bearing the good fruit of learning).

Okay, done with poetic comparisons (and my analogy was admittedly a bit weird). But Jesus told a similar story (Matthew 13:24-30) about a farmer who sowed good seeds, symbolizing the goodness that God has sown into the world. But during the night, an enemy sowed weeds in the same field. Obvious analogy here: the work of Satan—sneaky and dark.

The weeds I pull are obviously different from the plants I want to nurture. But Jesus' parable makes a lot more sense upon learning the “weed” He probably had in mind: “darnel,” which looked like a stalk of wheat until mature and was toxic when ingested by animals and humans.* “Weeding out” the tares before harvest would damage the remaining wheat stalks. (Ever try to walk in a grain field without smashing the stalks?) After harvest, the weed-tares could be separated and burned.

I weed my flower beds and uproot dandelions to keep my home attractive and a credit to the neighborhood. When I get down on my knees to eradicate the unwanted weeds, I am reminded of how that humble posture is one way to approach a holy God in prayer.

My most-used tool is a long rod with a V-shaped tip to slip down the weed's stem to take “more” of the root than just snatching off the bloom. Maybe there's a lesson in that, too. When we're made aware of behaviors that aren't pleasing to God, it's easy to say, “Well, I won't do that anymore.” But casual declarations don't get to the “root” of the problem. God's “eternal exam time” digs deep into attitudes like selfishness and entitlement that grow from a life focused on me-me-me.

God's Final Exam is coming. In the meantime, we have the privilege of soul checkups—the “weeding out” of actions and attitudes that don't honor Him, giving the true blooms of godliness space to thrive.

*For more about the toxicity of “darnel,” check this reference: Topical Bible: Darnel

BLOOMERS V. GLOOMERS

“I hate this town!” the newcomer complained to me. “I can hardly wait to move back to my old town.” I don't remember what I replied—maybe to give the town a chance (as I had—and I was now quite comfortable and happy here). But difficult family circumstances had mandated the move. 

I thought about the phrase “bloom where you are planted.” I first heard it back in the 1970s when it was featured on posters showing lovely flowers. That's also when I, new to this town, decided I'd try to bloom, not “bomb out.”

Later I realized the principle was Biblical. The Old Testament's David probably had times of wanting to say, “I don't like living here.” Like, when as God's next-king-designate, David was hiding out in caves to escape murder by a deranged King Saul, whom he would succeed. I'm not sure when in his life he wrote what we call Psalm 37, but it sure speaks of navigating times when life doesn't turn out the way you'd hoped. Yet, of such times of “discombobulation” (I love that word; it means “a time of being upset or confusion”), David was able to declare:

Trust in the Lord, and do good,

Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness.

Delight yourself also in the LORD,

And He shall give you the desires of your heart.

Commit your way to the LORD, Trust also in Him,

And He shall bring it to pass.

He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light,

And your justice as the noonday. (Psalm 37:3-6 NKJV)

In other words, wait and see what God can do with your new circumstances. Be willing to flex, maybe learning new job skills and adjusting to new people, who just might bring out your “better self.”

I photographed this rhododendron in early May, when it was at its prime. (It reminded me of an orchid!) A few weeks later, the bloom had wilted, as “rhodies” are prone to do. I was reminded of the transience of God's floral kingdom but the wisdom He exercises with humans in “who” and “what” He plants and “where” for longtime “blooming.”

The prophet Jeremiah (long after David's time) used similar analogies in speaking of the sovereignty of God in moving people around. At this point in Hebrew history, his nation's widespread sin and apathy would soon result in a judgment of being captured and carted off to Babylon, a vicious and pagan nation. In his prophecies, Jeremiah emphasized that even when his nation's “location” and “vocation” wasn't what they dreamed of, to dig in and make it work.

Jeremiah 17:7-8 compares a person who trusts in the Lord to a tree planted by water, and thriving in that environment: “Blessed is the man who who trusts in the LORD, and whose hope is in the LORD. For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, which spreads out its roots by the river."

The prophet also counseled his displaced people to “settle in” and make a new life, instead of pining for the way things used to be: “Build houses and dwell in them, plant gardens and eat their fruit....take wives and beget sons and daughters...and seek the peace of the city where I have caused you to be carried away captive, and pray to the Lord for it” (Jeremiah 29:5-7).

The person who complained “I hate this town” certainly was a candidate for such counsel. But their heart remained closed for years, nourishing bitterness.

I wish I could report a better end to this person's story, but...I'm praying. And really, the “end of the story” could still be rewritten to an outcome of hope and fulfillment. For that person. For any of us.