The beauty of a flower quickly passing serves as a reminder that our time is short on earth. This theme is threaded through the Bible from Job to James, and though the applications vary (Job laments the hardships of our brief life, David comforts the righteous that the wicked will quickly pass, James warns the rich that their lives will soon be gone...), the underlying theme is clear: our time is brief-- is there a hope for eternity?
Isaiah plants a seed of hope:
"Shout that people are like the grass that dies away. Their beauty fades as quickly as the beauty of flowers in a field. The grass withers, and the flowers fade beneath the breath of the LORD. And so it is with people. The grass withers, and the flowers fade, but the word of our God stands forever." (Isaiah 40:6b-8)
Peter, who quotes the Isaiah passage, brings the seed to fruition:
"For you have been born again. Your new life did not come from your earthly parents because the life they gave you will end in death. But this new life will last forever because it comes from the eternal, living word of God." (I Peter 1:23)
There is a hope for something more. As the dying flower produces the seeds of new life, so there is hope for us as well, but our hope does not spring from within-- as Isaiah intimates and Peter proclaims, it comes from the living word of God. God has not left us without hope! I leave the word to speak for itself (the link is to I Peter 1 for starters -- for further reading suggestions, feel free to email me at dmills727@gmail.com.
