Roses are a staple in many gardens. Give them enough sun, and they grow prolifically, creating blooms that cover the bush and overwhelm us with sensory delights. We rejoice at the first buds that form in the spring.
It’s not the rosebud, however beautiful, that brings us the most delight. To achieve a rose’s true headiness, we wait until the bloom opens in its fullness, spreading its petals wide, and we inhale its fragrant perfection.
There’s a way to keep the perfection of the rose with us, to carry it at our side even after the rose is gone. We can use it to perfume our homes and remind us of how wonderful the rose once was.
We have to crush the bloom to do so, to put it through a press in order to break it down to release the oils that are its true essence.
We have to destroy the flower to increase the intensity of its scent, to make it a lasting thing that can continue to be shared with others.
Psalm 34:18 says:
“The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.”
When we are crushed, we no longer feel beautiful. We feel we’ve reached the end of all that we once were. The rosebud of our childhood? We were young and filled with promise, but no more. The gently opened bloom of our college years? We were fulfilling the promises given to us by God, and we looked forward to maturing in him.
Then, it all came apart, and our rose became nothing more than a loose pile of petals, ready to be raked aside and tossed into the trash heap.
God knows better.
He lovingly collects each broken petal of our lives, and he crushes them. It may be painful to us, but he knows what will come out on the other side. He wishes to strain the essence of his perfection from our brokenness so that he can use it to enrich the lives of those who’ve never had the chance to experience the heady aroma of Christ.
When we feel the stern grip of our darkest days threatening to bring us to an end, remember, out of the press of devastation comes the true essence God wishes to draw from us. He’s making something perfect from who we once were.
We are becoming the essence of the rose, that heady perfection that perfumes the entire house, and makes everyone’s life better than it was before.
When we are crushed by God, we become beautiful on the other side.
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Code: FGO.H.01.15b.vp.esv