You probably remember the classic game of chance. Grab a flower and pick off a petal chanting, "He loves me." The next petal you pluck you say "He loves me not." Continue until the last petal. Whatever you last say stands as to the condition of 'their' love.
You're supposed to use daisies. Oh no, not me! I used dandelions as a child. We had a more of those. Plus, I figured it gave me more chances to get the answer I wanted.
In the many years of standing at the bus stop, I peeled quite a few dandelions. I won. I lost. Dandelions are finicky. They don't always give you the answer you'd like. But no fear, just try again with a new flower.
Love sure knows how to play hard to get in this crazy world! Even Jesus dealt with the sad reality. He stood in the temple of his hometown, opened the scroll of Isaiah, and began to read.
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me,
Because He anointed Me to bring good news to the poor.
He has sent Me to proclaim release to captives,
And recovery of sight to the blind,
To set free those who are oppressed,
To proclaim the favorable year of the Lord.” Luke 4:18-19
What a wonder to have Jesus then quietly sit down and within the hush of the room, proclaim, "Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing." Imagine the goosebumps! I would give almost anything to have been in that crowd.
And what did the people do? They ate it up! People spoke well at him and wondered at the gracious words which fell from his lips. Wait, wasn't this Joseph's son? What's he doing talking like this?
But wrangling crowds is like herding cats—one minute they're showering you with love, the next they're ready to riot.
Imagine this: Jesus next drops the bombshell that non-Jewish people are also on God's VIP list, maybe even snagging front-row seats. Talk about a divine soap.
The crowds love then soured into rage.
Sure, human affection can be as unpredictable as a game of "He loves me, he loves me not."
But not so with God.
Know that the petals will ALWAYS land on "He loves me." Always. In fact, his flowers can't ever end any other way. Why? Each and every petal of his love declares "He loves me."
Why? Because it's not a game with Him. It's life and death.
But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8
I remember that when I picked up my son a couple of years ago, somebody had placed a dandelion blossom on my door handle. I immediately texted my mom friends who were just with me. Nope. Wasn't them.
I placed it inside my truck's dashboard as I went about the rest of my day. Every time I looked at the multitude of petals, I was reminded of Father's unfailing love for me.
A couple of years have now passed, and the blossom has faded away. However, the love of Christ will never wither.
He's your forever fan, never giving up on you, never walking away, and never running out of love for you.
May each dandelion you spot today be a sweet reminder of your unwavering Savior's endless love and friendship.
"He loves me." Stop right there. There is no, "He loves me not."
Hallelujah!
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Aleisha