And let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds.

~Hebrews 10:24 NASB

Each year in February we celebrate Valentine’s Day. It’s one of those holidays you either love or hate.

.Either way, in the time leading up to V-Day you’re guaranteed to see tons of floral arrangements because, well —they’re a staple. Personally, I love flowers! It’s something about their smell, the colors, and receiving them by surprise that just brightens my day. However, beautiful as they are, they don’t last forever. One of the tell-tale signs they are coming to the end of their course is when the petals begin to fall.

The average person might not think about this, but as I looked at a rose on my desk someone gave me, my inner geek took over and I thought to myself, What exactly is the purpose of the petals?

After a little research via my friend Google, there was one function of the petals that really stood out to me.

Petals help the plant so that it may propagate.

Propagate? Don’t worry. I’ll tell you.

Propagate essentially means to multiply, reproduce, or spread something around. I smiled to myself because I could see how God was speaking to me through something as simple as a flower petal. Just like these petals, we too have the ability to help reproduce or multiply things in the lives of the people around us.

Good or bad.

Think about it, most of us know someone who either:

• >Promotes love or promotes strife
• >Helps others embrace their unique gifts and talents or is envious because it is not them
• >Uses their words to inspire and uplift or uses their words to spread dissension and tear people down

 

Our lives have an impact on others. And it will either produce a positive or negative effect. I don’t know about you, but as the author of Hebrews implored, I want to be a person who ignites a heart of love and good works in those I am around. I want to be a girl who leaves a trail of petals that produce:

• >More hope in the midst of deep pain
• >Joy in times of sorrow
• >Faith instead of fear
• >And the love of Christ that would cause others to want to know Him in a deeper way

So, the next time you see a flower petal, ask yourself, “What is my life reproducing?”

Keep on loving each other as brothers and sisters.

~Hebrews 13:1 NLT

Is the life your living leading others to know the God you serve?

Heavenly Father, help me to leave a positive impact on those You’ve sovereignly placed in my sphere of influence. Help me to draw others to You by my kindness, and the love they see within me. Help me to be like the petal, propagating–and what I am propagating is pleasing to You.

In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Genre: Non-fiction

Adapted from Pages From My Heart: A Devotional for Women, by Lekeisha (Ford) Maldon: Used with permission

Copyright 2021: The Purpose of the Petals: Lekeisha Maldon: All Rights Reserved