Bland But Beautiful
John 15:18-19
“If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.”
While on my way to see my mom, I hopped in my car and drove to Trader Joe’s to get her some flowers and a cute card. I walk inside and there is a whole wall of gorgeous flowers, yellow, bright orange, pink, purple, and a multitude of other colors brightening the tan wooden wall behind it. I stood there overwhelmed with options, seeing that all of them are so beautiful! Then, out of the corner of my eye, I spotted a plain green mint plant and rosemary plant. I began to think of all the ways these two plants can be used and how much longer the joy will last from them. Yes, they are going to require more upkeep and they don’t look as pretty as the flowers, but they will give more flavor to life and last much longer.
In a way, I see a correlation between the Christian life in this flesh driven world and those bland plants. To people who live according to the flesh, the way God desires His children to live looks so bland and boring, but the Spirit inside us and the lives He desires us to live is the most beautiful thing! It is long lasting and sprinkles the flavors of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, faithfulness, forbearance, and self-control. Living according to God’s law, drenched in His grace, and always living to be in a good-standing relationship with Him are like those bland plants. They are boring compared to what people desire of this world because when others want to gratify every desire of their flesh, children of God are told to control those desires and not submit to them. Romans 6:13-14 says “do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life and offer every part of yourselves as an instrument of righteousness. For sin shall no longer be your master because you are not under the law but under grace.” We know that everyone is a slave to something. Those who do not follow Christ is a slave to sin. This life looks pleasing and beautiful in the moment, even in this life on rath, but in the end life in the gospel, with Jesus, through the Spirit, is the most amazing gift and produces the most beauty and life giving fruit there could ever be.
John gives us reassurance of how it should feel to life for this world, driven so opposite of our Father God and 1 John encourage children of God to live for Christ’s return.
John 15:18-19
“If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.”
1 John 3:2
“Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is.”
John explains, in a unique way, that there will be hardships in the world because we are no longer of the sinful world. We are of the Spirit. Living in the Spirit means you detest sin, desire to become like Jesus and… that the world hates you. A little morbid, isn’t it? But think about it. It hates you because the world wants you to constantly want more. It wants you to say yes to everything, despite its effect on your heart. Yes, to live your life to satisfy yourself rather than others. Yes, to hoard your money to buy more and more things for your life to be “better”. Yes, to more trips. Yes, to addiction. Yes, to more expensive clothes and jewelry (1 Peter 3:3-4) Yes, to hot-tempers… gossip… sin... the world! But 1 John explains we are children of God. What we are experiencing now is not what God’s love and grace wants for us. Though we might seem to be bland green plants right now, in the end we will produce the flavor that truly matters in the end when He returns, and we become like Him. I can’t wait for that day, but till then, I am as happy as can be as that little bland green plant, giving out the flavors of Christ.