The Lone Blossom
This morning Beth directed my attention outside. On the deck we have a colorful array of geraniums - hot pink, pink & red, red orange, bright red, and deep red.
She pointed to a queer oddity. There, amid an all red flower pot, stood one white blossom. One. It stuck out like a lone 3 foot corn stock in a young bean field.
Can you remember a time when you felt like that odd white blossom, different from the crowd around you?
There may be an uneasy sense that you are somewhat different than many Americans, with the barrage of bizarre news reports and social media posts over the last few years. You may feel old fashioned, even heckled “out of date,” or “out of touch with mainstream.”
May I encourage you to NOT be silent. Do not let the world’s turmoil and tensions have a reclusive affect on your faith.
Freshman year in college, I remember going to a house with my girlfriend to play games. These were her former high school friends. I was the new guy. I didn’t know a soul. It was a fun evening, until we played the barn game.
The rules: The game leader whispers an animal in the ear of each participant - lion, dog, sheep, and so on. Upon command, everyone loudly mimics the sound of their animal. The two individuals who identify their matching animal sound - for example, dog/dog - and pair up first, win the round.
Being highly competitive, confident, and…the new guy, I should have known I was an easy target. Everyone received their assignment. Which was… “Shhhh. Don’t say a word. Be silent.” Then, I received mine, “You, Doug, are a donkey.”
“3…2…1…GO!” The leader shouted. And, I let it rip. “HeeeeHaawww!! HeeeeHaawww!! Heeee……Haww….Ha, Ha, Ha!”
Had I let my embarrassment, and their laughter, get to me, I would have been silent the rest of the night.
The growing sentiment against our founding fathers, foundational documents, and their source, is latently anti-God, anti-Bible hostility, fueled by a spirit of rebellion.
May I encourage you NOT to be silent, not to let this spirit of rebellion have a reclusive affect on you, your faith, or your speech and actions.
Read 1 Peter 4. And remember, “Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers a multitude of sins.”