BLOOMS…come in so many shapes, sizes and colors. Just around our house alone are azaleas, hydrangeas, roses, camellias, pentas, bougainvillea and more. Each one has its own distinctive look; all beautiful! And virtually every class has multiple types. Unique comes to mind. We plant numerous plants each Spring that last all Summer. So beautiful!
Interesting, when you add two esses to the middle of bloom, you get blossom. They are spelled differently, but essentially the same meaning, plant wise. The child ‘blossomed’ as an athlete or singer/dancer, indicating a peak period of development. The expression…‘bloom where you are planted’ is widely used to express the need to be effective in whatever circumstance one finds himself.
Bloom has a root meaning…‘flowering’. It is a time or state of beauty, freshness and vigor. As I was watching our many Penta bushes start to bloom, I looked intently at the blossom and a thought came across my mind. This Penta bloom is an ‘outward manifestation of the inward character of God’. When He spoke the heavens and earth into existence, He was designing this plant and all of creation to show forth His glory.
He declared everything ‘good’. He wanted mankind to see into His mind and heart through these resulting ‘blooms or manifestations’. “And the earth brought forth grass, the herb that yields seed according to its kind, and the tree that yields fruit, whose seed is in itself according to its kind. And God saw that it was good” (Gen. 1.12). The Lord created beauty; why, because He is beautiful! “The heavens declare the glory of God”—and so do the blooms. How many times do we ooh and ahh when we look upon a gorgeous array of plants. But do we stop to reflect on the One that made this possible? He is ‘the Florist of florists’!
The scriptures hail His awesome beauty. “Honor and majesty are before Him; strength and beauty are in His sanctuary” (Psa. 96.6). “Give unto the Lord the glory due to His name; worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness”(Psa. 29.2). The blooms don’t lie; they are shouting to us about His heart. These are only foretastes of glory divine! “In that day the Lord of hosts will be for a crown of glory and a diadem of beauty to the remnant of His people” (Isa. 28.5). Jesus in Matthew addresses His creation as it relates to being concerned about our earthly needs. “Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these” (6.28a,29). The Psalmist sketches a temporal and eternal painting of the desire that should be in every man’s heart. “One thing I have desired of the Lord, that will I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord” (Psa. 27.4).
You and I are the ‘crowns of His creation’. He gave us the privilege and responsibility to maintain His creation, and to be a witness to Him. We are truly the apple of His eye! So, are we ‘blooming’ in a manner that reflects His glory, holiness and righteousness? A blossom cannot radiate its intended beauty if the roots and stems are not maintained properly. Same with us! First, we have to know and believe that ‘in Christ’ we are redeemed, holy and righteous (bloomin’ saints). In Him we have a godly beauty that should be manifested in our countenance and in our actions. To maintain that fruitful, radiating relationship; the word, prayer and fellowship have to be daily in our lives under the ‘gardening hand’ of the Holy Spirit. Then you will truly ‘bloom where He plants you!’