God’s love and faithfulness

There have always been beautiful flowers and butterflies and birds.  In Palestine there are many lovely flowers, and especially fine are the irises and gladioli which grow wild in great numbers.  In springtime their gorgeous reds and blues and purples make the fields and pastures a picture.  They are the lilies of the field which Jesus said are more beautiful than all the royal robes of King Solomon put together.  You may remember the words, “Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these (NRSV, Matthew 6:28,29).

If then God takes so much care over making the flowers which so quickly whither away, how much more must you and I, for whom he made them, matter to him?

In other words, as we look round at the fields and gardens and parks and at the decorations in church, what we see before us is a coloured picture of the Love of God. 

And the regular seasons of springtime and harvest are a sign of God’s faithfulness to us and a reminder that we in our turn should be faithful to him and love him in return.