Reason #96: In growing flowers, I see the gospel.
For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 6:23).
Have you ever wondered why bad things happen to good people?
Me too. It doesn’t make sense, right? Our world is filled with tragedy left and right. Certainly, a much larger, more nuanced and complex dialogue surrounds this gigantic life question. But for today, let me share with you some of my thoughts as they relate to flowers.
Stay with me.
Our world is broken. People are evil.
Think about it. As a mom of four kids ages six and under, it’s so obvious to me. I don’t have to teach my kids to scream, be whiny, or hurt each other. They do this quite naturally as little self-centered beings.
Similarly, we don’t have to find weeds, slugs, or rabbits to harm our gardens. Those things we may find in abundance. It seems to be the most beautiful of flowers for which we must work the hardest.
But let me back up.
Do I believe the world started like this? No.
God is a loving creator. Does He have the right to call the shots on what is right and wrong in my life? 100%. Did He also make flowers, beauty, and SO much pleasure and goodness in the world just for us? Yes!
This is one reason I want to be a flower farmer. Connecting with the earth and nature reminds me of what a good creator the Father is.
And the weeds, thorns, diseases, and pests remind me of the fall: that sin and brokenness are in this world. When my back aches and sweat drips down my face, I am reminded that I am an imperfect, endlessly striving, mortal human...and was separated from a holy God because of my choice to do my own thing (aka sin). Because of my willful ignorance. Because of my natural tendency to scream and be whiny and hurt people, just like my kids. If I were in the Garden of Eden with Adam and Eve, I too would choose to do things my own way, instead of God’s way.
Another way to say it: Without Christ, I am lost. Bound by sin and addiction and people-pleasing. Covered in powdery mildew and mold and bugs. Surrounded by weeds that are choking me to death. Thirsty.
But.
But but but.
“But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.” (Ephesians 2:4-5).
The flowers bloom! Despite all the brokenness and bugs and disease. He made a way.
Redemption, redemption, redemption! A little glimmer of heaven. God’s goodness made tangible—a physical reminder of His grace.
When I look at a flower, especially knowing firsthand all the odds and challenges stacked against it, I can only stand in awe of both a loving creator God and a victoriously risen Christ. Grace from God, freedom from sin, victory and triumph over darkness, death, and disease.
And if not in this life, then in "eternal life with Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23). Of course, there’s no way we can know exactly what the afterlife is or will look like, but heaven is a real, tangible place. My hope comes from the promise that I will one day live in a new resurrection body in a new heaven and new earth.
Picture a glorious and gorgeous field of flowers. If this is possible on earth, how amazing is heaven going to be?! I mean....come on!!
Now...there will be a final judge, and that judge is God. My sin makes me deserving of death and forever separation from God, but because of the sacrifice of a perfectly obedient Jesus, I am saved.
And this is why I am so in love with flowers:
None of this is because of anything good that I do. It’s not because I have faith and some good works. It’s not because I go to church. It’s certainly not because of any views I may (or may not!) have on any hot-button social issues. You can do everything right, but the flowers may still not grow. And wildflowers grow in places where absolutely no one is tending or watering them!
It is only by faith alone.
Through Jesus I am declared more than just innocent. To be declared innocent would be like God took away all the weeds and bugs and disease but left just some happy dirt. But it doesn’t stop there!
After all the clean-up, He grows the most beautiful, breathtaking, stunningly perfect flowers.
This is being saved by faith. Not only am I set free from the bondage of sin, but I am given the very righteousness and perfection of Jesus. By no work of my own!
Whew.
Why am I writing about this? I don’t want to forget why I’m doing all this. And by this, I don’t just mean starting a flower business. By this, I mean life! I want all I do to be rooted (pun intended) in the good news of Jesus. It is only because I am saved by His grace that I live and move and have my being (Acts: 17:28).
If something hard is going on in your life right now (and it probably is), know that 1) you’re not alone and 2) it has nothing to do with you being good or bad or how hard you’re working or trying or any slips up you made or didn’t make!
Bigger picture: It’s because we live in a broken world. Me throwing flowers in your face and saying, “Hey, feel better; look at these pretty flowers!” is not going to help you AT ALL (well, okay, maybe pretty flowers might help a little!). But me introducing you to a really good and loving God who created flowers that grow in the midst of all the suffering, weeds, drought, and disease?
That’s something to think about.
That could change everything.
“I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God.”
Romans 8:18-21
If you want to talk more about God, the gospel, religion, flowers, or...well, anything! Please contact me in any way! Email waltonfamilyflowers@gmail.com, message me on Instagram or Facebook, or even better...check out a local church in your area 😊
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Interested in God, but want it simplified for you? Read this post for the good news of Jesus boiled down to four main points.
