
Article by: Sarah Koontz,Founder of Living by Design Ministries
I love it when my “everyday romantic” surprises me with flowers.
This time the blooms are a refreshing mixture of vibrant tulips.
I create a hodgepodge of floral arrangements – mason jars overflowing with inspiration – to set around my house and keep the winter blues at bay.
I am especially captivated by a single bloom resting within a petite jar on my little red writing desk.
This particular flower has blossomed so fully it entices me to reach out and caress it.
Admiration is quickly replaced with regret when my gentle touch causes two petals to drop onto the surface of my crimson workspace.
The flower blossomed to such an extent that its beauty became fragile –it overbloomed.
{Overbloom: a horticultural term describing a plant that blooms or flowers excessively, therefore undermining its strength.}
The tulip’s fragile beauty reminds me of how often I stretch myself too far and fall to pieces.
It makes me think of my kid’s over-packed schedule which exhausts my patience and unleashes my alter ego (who likes to yell…a lot).
It rouses memories of my primal urge to produce Pinterest-worthy meals every night of the week, drowning out all rational thought pertaining to my limitations.
It prompts me to kick myself for all the stress eating which has caused my body to “bloom” beyond what my favorite jeans can comfortably contain.
Excessive blooming undermines our strength and weakens our beauty.
Excessive blooming undermines our strength and weakens our beauty. Click to TweetThe message the world sends me is loud and clear, “you must do more, you must have more, you must be more…bloom more!”
More entices me to say yes when I should say no.
More tempts me to tackle my lengthy to-do-list instead of studying my Bible.
More seduces me with its beauty and then discards me when I fail to meet its standard.
I grab one of the lonely looking petals and rub it between my fingers as I mull over this whole idea of overblooming.
My thoughts drift to the unexpected choices Jesus Christ made during his time on earth.
He didn’t seek the kind of more-ness that the world covets.
Instead, He exposed the folly in the world’s wisdom by living a small, yet infinitely significant life.
Jesus exposed the folly in the world’s wisdom by living a small, yet infinitely significant life. Click to Tweet3 Lessons about Blooming from Jesus’ Life
1. Jesus bloomed selectively.
“Yet the news about him spread all the more, so that crowds of people came to hear him and to be healed of their sicknesses. But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.” Luke 5:15-16 NIV
It must have been challenging for one capable of doing so much to regularly withdraw from the demands of the world.
But that’s exactly what Jesus did.
Because Jesus’ priority was to do the will of the Father, He wasn’t enticed when the world shouted, “it’s not enough…bloom more!”
2. Jesus focused on roots rather than blossoms.
“The Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does.” John 5:19 NIV
Although Jesus produced many beautiful blossoms during his life and ministry, they were never his focus.
His roots reached deeply into the truth of the Scripture and his life was sustained by the promises of the Father.
Jesus prioritized seeking nourishment from the Father over producing an abundance of blossoms to capture the attention of men.
Jesus prioritized growing deep roots over producing showy blossoms. Click to Tweet3. Jesus understood that the seed must die before the flower can bloom.
“The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Matthew 20:28 NIV
Everyone assumed that Jesus would set up an earthly kingdom, yet what he did was so much greater.
He sacrificed himself for the glory of God and the good of all mankind.
Jesus was the seed that died so that we could have life –so that we could bloom for His glory!
Next time our hearts yearn for the more-ness of the world, let’s remember that fragile overbloomed tulip and choose to follow the Jesus’ example instead.
How to Follow Jesus’ Example
Are you living a life that is rooted in God’s word or are you dipping your rootless stem into the broken vase of this world?
Colossians 2:7 says, “So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.”
Roots provide nourishment to extend the life of the blossom.
Roots provide stability to withstand the storms of this life.
Roots provide hope for a better future.
The world system offers us a kind of beauty that is fragile, fleeting, fickle.
God offers us a kind of beauty that is resilient, redeemed, resplendent.
Roots don’t change our circumstance; they give us the strength to thrive in spite of our circumstance.
Roots don’t change our circumstance; they give us the strength to thrive in any circumstance. Click to TweetClosing Challenge & Conversation Starter
In closing, I challenge you to follow Jesus example and…
Bloom selectively.
Grow deep roots.
Serve God alone.
Then you won’t be enticed when the world shouts, “it’s not enough…bloom more!”
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