Song of Solomon 2:1
I am the rose of Sharon, and the lily of the valleys.
I’m sure at some point you have asked the age old question, what is the meaning/purpose of life? I’ll soon be sixty seven years old and I have refined this question somewhat to; what is the purpose of “my” life? Or in other words; Lord, what do you want to do with the remaining years I have left? My wife and our eleven year old beagle helped me to answer this question. Sometimes my wife, who had MS and was bed-ridden, would see Little Hank going through the house and she would say, “Little Hank, you have such purpose”. So what was Little Hank’s purpose? It is to love us unconditionally and he certainly did a superb job at doing just that. I sometimes wish my life had as much purpose as Little Hank’s. The Bible tells us that we should imitate Christ. Well, what is Jesus doing? Again, the Bible tells us that Jesus only does those things He sees the Father doing. So, what is God the Father doing? He is loving us unconditionally. So much so that He gave His only begotten Son to die on a cross for your sins and mine, so that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. In other words, Jesus showed His unconditional love for us by denying self for your sake and for mine. So my strongest heartfelt desire for the remainder or my life, is to imitate Christ and glorify God by denying self and allowing Jesus to live His life through me. Just like my dear wife Pam did for the past 40 years. If we do this, then we are satisfying the greatest command in the Bible which is to love God with all our heart, mind, soul and strength and our neighbor as ourself. My wife and I just celebrated our 40th wedding anniversary, and the the only thing she wanted was a single rose. She couldn’t decide however if she wanted an artificial/imitation rose, or if she wanted the real thing. Dear friends, my dear Pam, the flower of my eye, recently went to heaven and I am happy to report that she did indeed receive the real thing. Imitate our God in heaven, and you too, can give the world a rose. Praise the holy name of Jesus!
The Rose
The rose is a rare and precious flower,
That adds beauty and pleasure to our lives.
The type of pleasure that warms the heart,
Long after each petal withers and dies
If a rose could talk it would speak of love,
In a voice so clear and true.
It would speak of the passion in God’s great heart,
For people like me and you.
I wish I could give the world a rose,
Just to show how much I care.
A rose with beauty to make a mark,
And show God’s love is meant to share.
Long ago God gave the world a rose,
Jesus Christ was a flower in God’s eyes.
Like a rose His beauty graced our world,
And touched so many precious lives.
I thank you dear Father for the rose,
That allows me too look beyond my pain.
The rose that reminds me of your Son,
Who for my sin on Calvary’s cross was slain.
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The Rose