INFORMATION -
Matthew 6:28 And why should you..... be anxious about your clothes? That's right why should you? Aren't we supposed to look good for Jesus? How about pressing toward the high mark of fashion? Just kidding. Jesus says, "consider the lilies of the field. Here we go again, looking at something. Look at the lilies of the field. I will spare you by not repeating all the stuff we have already written about regarding "LOOKING". You can go back and refresh your thoughts on your own.
There is additional instruction this time. Consider/look at the lilies of the field A...N...D.... learn a little bit how they grow; they neither toil or spin. NOT!!!! Learn thoroughly! And there you have it.
Learn - to acquire knowledge of or skill in by study, instruction, or experience: to learn, to become informed of or acquainted with; ascertain: to learn the truth, to memorize, to gain (a habit, mannerism, etc.) by experience, exposure to example, or the like; acquire
Thoroughly - executed without negligence or omissions: a thorough search, complete, extremely attentive to accuracy and detail, painstaking, having full command or mastery.
Yes.... there you have it! My first thought is that I will never read another word in the Bible or anywhere else. I will now spend the rest of my days watching birds of the air and plants of the field, attempting to learn thoroughly what it is they do or better yet what they do not do.
MEDITATION -
The birds neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns and yet... my heavenly Father keeps feeding them. Some might say that they are lazy and what about the verse in Proverbs that says no work no eat. The lilies neither toil nor spin? Ask quickly as I wrote this I was drawn back to the words, "Are you not worth more than they?"
APPLICATION -
I can not come up with anything better than for us to just do what Jesus said. Consider the lilies of the field and learn thoroughly how they grow. What's that look like? It will probably be different for each one of us and that's why comments may be important for others to read. You have Websters definition of learn and thoroughly which is probably the more difficult of the two words. This is now a matter for you and God. Learn... THOROUGHLY!
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Ok this should be interesting...
ReplyDeleteWell, I think there is a difference between the "lilies of the field" and the plant we carry. The plant is taken care of by me with in the limitations of the reward system during the time it is carried around. Other wise plants do well or not because of how well they are tended.
ReplyDeleteThe lilies of the field are left a little more to chance. How much rain, heat other natural occurances. Plants in general as well and most anything we endever will do well or not be our actions. Right crop for the area, ground preperation, tending during growth, harvest at right time. Everything really is a matter of knowing and or learning so you can avoid pitfalls and have a good crop and thoroughly the ins and outs of. Takes time and dedication.
I am going to come at this at another angle. We know what learn and thoroughly is, but what is toil and spinning look like? What does toil and spinning look like? Shouldn't we look at what the opposite is? Isn't this a way of learning what not to do. One of the best ways we learn is by example.
ReplyDeletetoil:
1. hard and continuous work; exhausting labor or effort.
2. a laborious task.
3. Archaic. battle; strife; struggle.
Spin: to move, go, run, ride, or travel rapidly. (there were many more but I chose the most important)
We know from observation that lilies are not laborous, and they do not move rapidly. They are in a state of being!!! Being is a verb which requires just existing in what we are created for. I have heard before from a worship leader I enjoy listening to and he said "we were not created to do, we are created to be. Be = being, believing, beginning..." Whatever happened to just being.
Lilies....Lilies don't like too much sun and they don't like too much shade. They like moist soil and alkaline deposits. they like to be planted about 4 inches deep. They are generally, perennial...so they bloom in the very beginning of spring and hibernate for the rest of the year. After they bloom fully and begin to wilt you cut the flowers and wait for next year. Every year trying to have a bigger better bloom. Not several, but one. The eventual end is to strive for one big flower. So to recap:
ReplyDelete-Only is pretty for a season, the rest is spent in growth.
-Like to be wet but not too wet and sunny but not too sunny
-Striving for one big Flower.
What a great flower for Jesus to use as an example. I mean I know I go through changes that take lots of time for me to be able to recognize what all that I went through was for. I know that being content with having all of my needs met and not wanting more is something I strive for. And to only be striving toward one big change or growth in me at a time so that it can grow the best. Oh and I found out that lilies have such strong roots that you can cut them down to the soil and they will grow back. GOD can cut us down to our foundation and recreate everything he had before in us just as good if not better. Thats AWESOME!
The benefit recieved for applying this application is that your plant gets to exist another day. Feel like you've been robbed? Sound like you've been short changed? Selah... Think about this benefit a little more and comment your findings for some food for your plant.
ReplyDeletemy tongue?
ReplyDeleteWhat I found interesting is there are 110 species of lilies.
ReplyDelete~Lilium bulbs are starchy and edible as root vegetables, although bulbs of some species may be very bitter.
~The non-bitter bulbs of L. lancifolium, L. pumilum, and especially L. brownii (Chinese: 百合 干; pinyin: bǎihé gān) are grown at large scale in China as a luxury or health food, most often sold in dry form. They are eaten especially in the summer, for their ability to reduce internal heat.
~many variety of lilies are toxic to cats! That's good news for you Todd!!
~There are two types of germination for lilies. Epigeal or hypogeal. Epigeal lilies germinate under moist, warm conditions (approximately 70°F) in one stage taking about 14 days. One stage means that they send send up a leaf right away.
Hypogeal lilies require two or more stages with variations of temperature particular to each stage. For hypogeal lilies, the first stage of germination takes place entirely underground where the bulb is created. Hypogeals require a warm period of 3 months at 70°F followed by a 3 month period at 40°F. A juvenile leaf appears in the second stage. The tiny bulbs are then planted in a warm area, usually outdoors. Then there is a double hypogeal lilies that Double hypogeal lilies are the hardest to germinate and need multiple alternating periods of warm and cold. The exact sequence varies by species. Lilies that require these special conditions are often adapted to very specific conditions, and may be rare.
~The range of lilies in the Old World extends across much of Europe, the north Mediterranean region, across most of Asia to Japan, south to the Nilgiri mountains in India, and south to the Philippines. In the New World they extend from southern Canada through much of the United States.
see my blog for findings and feelings about benefit of the plant.
ReplyDelete