Roses are red. At least the ones we found growing on the bush behind our house. I first noticed the pretty flowers back in June while doing some yard work. I hadn’t seen them the week before, and it was like they appeared overnight.
I’m glad I snapped a picture when I did, because soon after those roses reached full bloom they began to fade. Then they were gone. A short time later, some new buds popped up and started to blossom in their place. Here up North we think flowers are especially special because we know their life expectancy is relatively short.
Now I don’t mean to be a stick in the mud, but our life expectancy is brief as well. In fact, the Bible makes clear our time here is very temporary: “A person’s life is like grass. Like a flower in the field it flourishes, but when the hot wind blows by, it disappears” (Psalm 103:15-16). The Psalmist speaks from experience, as those hot winds in Palestine can make a flower wilt and grass turn brown faster than you can say Methuselah.
It is wise, therefore, to “redeem the time” (Colossians 4:5), or make the most of the opportunities we’re given. But there’s something more to consider. God “remembers we are dust” (Psalm 103: 14), and He is well aware our lives are like “a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes” (James 4:14).
And yet, while we are only here for like a moment, when we completely turn our lives to Him we find out that “the steadfast love of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear Him” (Psalm 103:17). Even though our time is short, God directs His unfailing love forever and ever toward those who trust Him as Savior and Lord.
