Favorites
Posted by: forthrightmag <forthrightmag@...>
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Straight to the Cross
COLUMN: CONSIDER THE LILIES
Favorites
by Christine Berglund
wp.me/p1HIjv-4lL
You will find me using the word "favorite" quite often
when it comes to flowers. I'm not fickle, really; it's
just that the one that happens to be blooming at the
moment gets all the love and attention.
Recently I had to replace my "favorite" roses, a hedge
of beautiful double red Knockout roses lining my front
walk. It was a little sad for me, I must confess. The
new Lorapetalums should do well there, and they won't
succumb to Rose Rosette disease. They show promise of
becoming a "favorite" already, with their pretty
rounded purple leaves and graceful habit. However, it
was very hard to let the roses go.
Isaac and Rebekah played favorites with their children,
and it didn't work well for anyone. It resulted in
lies, trickery, and one of the sons fleeing to a
faraway place. We need to learn from this heartbreaking
story to not play favorites with our children.
The roses may not have been saved from disease even if
had I given them extra care, but I still feel a little
guilty. The truth is that this corner garden was a
little bit more neglected than the back yard beds. Some
of the newer plantings got more attention. In a way,
this is similar to what happens when a new baby comes
into the family. It might be a good thing to shower
extra attention on the older children so that they
don't feel less important than the new bundle of joy.
There are not very many expensive or exotic plants in
our yard, but when we do acquire them, they are treated
with the utmost honor and deference. They are the first
plants watered and fertilized, they get covered up when
frost is expected. Other nearby plants are often cut
down or moved so that the favored plant can be enjoyed
better.
This reminds me of what happened in the early church;
indeed it unfortunately happens in our time. "Do you
pay attention to the one who is finely dressed and say,
'You sit here in a good place,' and to the poor person,
'You stand over there,' or 'Sit on the floor'"? (James
2:3, NET).
The zinnias are not going to have their feelings hurt
if they are moved so that the brugmansia can have a
better place of honor. But if we favor the most
influential and best-dressed among us in church, we are
clearly violating God's commands as well as Christ's
clear example.
It is my goal to let each of my children think he or
she is my favorite when I spend time with each
individually. In truth, that's when each one is my
"favorite."
My Christian brothers and sisters also need to know
that I love them more than they expect. We should
surprise the people around us with how much we can
shower love on them! Nobody should feel like a lowly
zinnia that is to be moved in favor of a "better"
plant; and when we part, it should feel like saying
goodbye to my roses.
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