The Rose which never fades!

By Helen Jesze, 21^st April 2019

“Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here but is risen!”

Luke 24, 5a, 6b

Crossing the hall, I noticed I had forgotten to water the small plant on the hall cupboard, and although its red roses looked as if they still bloomed, they had actually dried up. Immediately my mind latched onto the memory of two Norwegian friends I knew when I was a teenager. They strummed their guitars and their faces shone with the joy of the Lord as they sang:

“I am going to a city where the streets with gold are laid.
Where the Tree of Life is blooming, where the roses never fade.

Loved ones who have gone before me in their robes of white arrayed,
They are waiting for my coming, where the roses never fade.

Here they bloom but for a season, soon their beauty is decayed.
I am going to a city where the roses never fade!”

We have just celebrated Passover and Easter, where our great Rose of Sharon, Jesus Christ, the Son of the Living God laid down His life as the supreme Passover Lamb that we might be redeemed and set free from sin. Satan thought he had this ‘rose’ in his grasp, that he had caused it to ‘fade’, its life and power to dry up, but after three days and three nights this Rose came to Life again by the power of the Holy Spirit!

Today is Resurrection Sunday when millions of Christians around the world will be celebrating this wonderful occasion! I wish us all a blessed, unforgettable day, where we appreciate the beauty and vitality of this ‘Rose’, our risen Saviour, one who will never die again.

This a Rose we will never have to water, yet our relationship with Him needs to be cared for or it can dry up. We may know how to ‘talk the talk and walk the walk’ so that most people would never know the difference. But on closer examination, the truth shows that we need a fresh ‘watering’ of His Word and the Holy Spirit, to bring us to spiritual life again.

Prayer:Father, thank you for the Rose of Sharon, our Passover Lamb, your Son, the Lord Jesus Christ and for His sacrifice on Calvary. Thank you for the new life He has given us. He has taken our dried up existence and breathed His life and power into it, that today we might bloom for Him, and bring beauty and fragrance to those around us. We rejoice in His resurrection today and ask that you will give us a new revelation and understanding of this truth! In the Name of Jesus, Amen!