A hidden mystery within the tulip...

With each new day and drop of rain, growth and discovery are available to each of us.  I’ve learned it doesn’t matter the time of day or the weather ~ beauty and hope surround us if we keep our eyes open and focused.  God’s love for us comes in all different colors, shapes and venues ~ some we recognize instantly while others require us to be more purposeful.

Although the weather was drizzly this past Saturday my father meandered around the house, walking the new puppy when he noticed one of the tulips had opened up. The manner in which it opened resembled a rose more than a tulip. It intrigued my dad because of its uniqueness and beauty. As he leaned it, he confirmed it was a tulip yet what he discovered within this fully blossomed tulip took his breath away. Leaning in for a closer look, he couldn’t believe his eyes.  He discovered the most breathtaking, hidden treasure on the property.  One easily missed if he hadn’t paused, knelt and observed more closely.  Concealed within the center of that brightly colored tulip were three hearts. After going back in for his camera, he snapped a few photos in hopes of capturing the essence of the tulip’s typically veiled beauty. (He also thought “I bet Lisa could blog about this!”  - you were right Dad! Thanks for always thinking of me.)

I didn’t observe this mysterious interior until the following day but was able to witness it through the photos on Dad’s camera. I was amazed and awe struck, it was beautiful and I was looking forward to coming down after church the following day to see it for myself. As I examined the photo I said, “There is a blog in this.” To which Mom and Dad smiled to each other, they knew that was coming.

Within the tulip are three hearts and I would like to use the tulip as an analogy for God in three persons, the blessed trinity. (Are you singing, “Holy, holy, holy…”) 

Although at first glance we see one tulip but upon further investigation, hidden in the depths of the flower are three hearts. I envision the tulip as God – One in nature yet three persons within that nature. He is our Triune God ~ the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.  God wants us to communicate and relate with Him. He recognizes our inability to fathom who He is so He sent Jesus to live among us in order to know God as man. When Jesus died on the cross for our sins and then ascended to Heaven to rejoin His Father, He left us the Holy Spirit to intercede on our behalf. All three work together as a family in order for me and for you to begin to comprehend God’s love for us.

 “…God is Three Divine Persons who share one Divine Nature…The truth that God is "Three-in-One" also shows us that there is a "Community of Love" within the Godhead. God is not a solitary Monarch, reigning all alone in Eternity. Rather, God is a "Family", so to speak; a Father and a Son bound together by an Eternal Love which is a Third Person, the Holy Spirit. This is a very beautiful thought. Finally, the doctrine of the Trinity allows us to understand how God gives us a share in His own Divine Life. The Father sends the Son, Who becomes flesh, taking on Himself our human nature. The Son then unites us to His Sacred Humanity, making us one Body with Him. By this union we also partake of His divine nature (see II Peter 1:4), and so become sons and daughters of God in the Eternal Son. Jesus then loves the Father in us, and the Father loves Jesus in us, and so their mutual Love, the Holy Spirit, becomes present in our souls. The Spirit causes us to proclaim that Jesus is Lord (I Corinthians 12:3) and cries within us "Abba Father" (Galatians 4:6).” http://home.earthlink.net/~mysticalrose/trinity.html

I enjoyed preparing for today’s blog, reading an array of Scripture versus that prove this to be true. I didn’t come across one verse in particular yet the large number of verses, commentaries and articles I read brought a joy to my heart to know God loves me enough…loves you enough to have Three Persons available to us each and every day. Simply amazing…whereas the tulip will die, God is Eternal!

A special thanks to my Dad for another fabulous photo and reminder of God’s love for us…hidden within His creation. It was just the reminder I needed at that moment…