Apr 02 – The Crimson Rose!

“I am the rose of Sharon, and the lily of the valleys” (Song of Solomon 2:1).

A little girl used to bring a beautiful rose every day to Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of India. Wanting to please her, he would lovingly receive the rose and place it on his coat. Gradually, he developed a great fondness for roses. Therefore, he created a beautiful rose garden behind his house and would pluck his favourite rose every day to wear.

When he passed away, the gardener came running with a rose in his hand and cried, “Babuji, I have brought the flower you love. Please open your eyes, take it, and wear it.” Alas! He had not worn the heavenly Rose of Sharon, which alone gives eternal glory.

The rose is red in colour. It lovingly reminds us of the blood of Jesus, His sacrifice, and His death on Calvary. The lily, on the other hand, is white and represents the holiness and purity of Jesus Christ. Indeed, is He not “white and ruddy”?

Once when I visited the Garden of Gethsemane in Jerusalem, I saw beautiful crimson flowers blooming at the place where Jesus shed drops of blood-like sweat. They appeared as though the blood of Christ had been sprinkled there. In that place, I meditated deeply on the Lord’s love and the love revealed at Calvary.

On the hill of Calvary, He was beaten and crushed, and He shed all His precious blood. What a remarkable sacrifice He made so that we might become precious in God’s sight! Though He endured unbearable suffering, His face blossomed like the Rose of Sharon, because of the joy of bringing many children into glory. He was neither troubled nor afraid.

Wherever we go, let us carry the Rose of Sharon with us. Let us carry the character of Christ with us. Let us make our lives a sweet fragrance for Him. Then we will be people filled with joy and enriched with every blessing.

If you take a rose and crush it with your hands or trample it under your feet, it will still cause your hands and feet to smell fragrant. Children of God, wherever there is hatred, let us show love; wherever there is bitterness and wounds, let us show forgiveness; wherever there is doubt, let us demonstrate faith.

Verse for further meditation: “Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place. For we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing” (2 Corinthians 2:14–15).