Flourish

Outside my kitchen window are bird feeders. With the change of seasons, there's been a change in the birds that feed there. There's the local birds that frequent the feeders year-round, however, there are also stop-overs - those birds migrating from hot to cold and cold to hot climates. Scripture causes us to pause-and-reflect on just how transitory we humans are: "All flesh is grass, and all its loveliness is like the flower of the field. The grass withers, the flower fades, when the breath of the LORD blows upon it: surely the people are grass." (Isaiah 40:6-7). Even Dorothy [of Wizard of Oz] observed that "people come and go so quickly here." Yes, we do! James used this same wither-fade illustration: "The rich man is to glory in his humiliation, because like flowering grass he will pass away. For the sun rises with a scorching wind and withers the grass; and its flower falls off and the beauty of its appearance is destroyed; so too the rich man in the midst of his pursuits will fade away." (James 1:10-11). How foolish [then] are we to put our trust in withering-and-fading things of life - health, money, career, people, etc. Therefore, how golden are these words: "The grass withers, the flower fades, but the Word of our God stands forever." (Isaiah 40:8). God and His Word cannot be separated thus His Word is His promise of unconditional, abundant, eternal love for us. Because of Christ, the evidence of God's Love for us, we are "like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in its season and its leaf does not wither." (Psalm 1:3). That's right - because of Christ, we do not wither and we do not fade ... we flourish!