I recently heard someone laying out their reasoning for disliking flowers and finding them entirely meaningless. His reasoning was that they in fact had no usefulness. I knew I disagreed wholeheartedly with him, but had little to say of it at the time. I knew he had a personality quite at the other end of the spectrum. I had run across this difference between me and such people enough that it was easy to understand why I felt so strong in the other direction in strange contrast to his line of thinking.
Flowers are beautiful. They appeal both to my senses and my appreciation for them goes much deeper. I enjoy looking at them, touching them, and smelling them. To me they are like a song or a poem, or a letter written communicating to me deeply. What do they communicate?
When I experience beauty I feel safe. I feel peace, too. But more specifically I think the main feeling is safety. I believe that with every act of creation and design God was communicating. As he was building this world, our bodies, our capacities, and capabilities as humans, he was also designing an experience. The fact that flowers exist communicates to me this life is not all about utility. I feel loved when I experience flowers. My value does not shift with my capabilities, my usefulness. My value is not dependent on how productive I can be, how well I can survive in comparison to others. Survival of the fittest is rediculous, because really who wants to just survive? I do want to be fruitful or as some would say: productive, but I also want to be passionate. Beauty actually soothes my mind enough that I can function, without it you would see my behavior become more and more erratic. It drives me crazy and I think it literally would.
Beauty is a communication from God that his love comes from a place of more than enough. It is more than about what I need. Flowers are definitely non-essential to my survival. But his goal isn't my survival. Beauty gives more than it takes. He is showing me that he is extravagant. When someone possesses more wealth than they need it goes above and beyond meeting those needs. Well what do you do with it then? Meet other peoples needs. Ok so God's wealth is more than able to meet all of our needs. In fact a flower replenishes itself and multiplies itself. That is the nature of God's wealth. His wealth is always increasing. With that wealth that goes beyond all need of all creation God can do with it what He wants. There is no limitation on what he could do. He has absolute power to accomplish what He sets His hand to. What he does with this power and wealth speaks to us about his character. He enjoys showing us who He is. One of the things He did was to create flowers and my ability to enjoy them. To be sure this flower enjoyment is only one aspect of my life. Also it seems quite a marginal piece of my life, but in the end it isn't about the flower, it is about the relationship. It is a very useful communication tool in the grand symphony of his song of love towards us.
I love flowers, and all this is contained in my love for flowers whether I am aware of it or not. They were designed specifically for enjoyment. And so they fill their purpose perfectly. We don't always stop and appreciate them, but they are there just the same a communication that returns again and again to us. A gift from the King who desires us.
Another thing God is communicating through the flower and other beauty he created on earth for us is this. Out of all this beauty I choose you. You are beautiful to me. You are a stand out. I desire you more than any of this. All of this beauty is temporary, but it has a purpose while it is here; communication from the one who originally thought it up. Knowing I am loved, brings forth love in my heart I could not produce. Love for God, and others. What touches me about flowers is the gift they are to me; what they communicate to me. Ultimately if we only look at the flower we miss their purpose. They are poetry from the greatest love to us. If you only look at the flower what you miss is the communication from where they originated the heart of God, and you also miss the explosive effect that love has in the hearts of those who receive that message. It isn't about the flower at all, because it is after all only one such letter of many from God, but it is still special to my heart.
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