Kill The Rose?invest Alittle More?

Kill the rose, or give it another chance?

Give it another chance?

Wade Martin Hughes, Sr Kyfingers@aol.com

Text: Luke 13: 6 He spake also this parable; A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came and sought fruit thereon, and found none.

7. Then said he unto the dresser of his vineyard, Behold, these three years I come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and FIND NONE: cut it down; why cumbereth it the ground?

8. And he answering said unto him, Lord, let it alone this year also, till I shall dig about it, and dung it:

9. And if it bear fruit, well: and if not, then after that thou shalt cut it down.

Gal. 6:9 And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.

Today I ponder: WHAT IS REAL LOVE? Do I practice real love on a daily basis?

Love should make people look at the bright side of things. Love overlooks faults and bad things. Love makes an effort to see the good things. So what do you see? Good things?

Love is love’s reward.

The people that need your love the most, deserve it the least? Invest love anyway!

What do you see when you see people? What do they see when they see you?

The other day I invited a man to church. He had a good excuse ..... He said, "I would go to church, but the are hypocrites there."

I personally agreed that there are hypocrites at church. As long as real people attend anything, there will be problems.

But, I told him, I was amazed, I saw hypocrites at Walmart and Super America. He goes to those places with hypocrites ... WHY CAN’T YOU GO TO CHURCH WITH THEM? He spent time in bars, and you talk about hypocrites.

Perhaps if using hypocrites as an excuse, one should prepare self for an eternity with them?

I could not change his mind, but I left him with the thought ... he would spend eternity with hypocrites, so he should get use to them.

He agreed that: … if it were his last Sunday he may come.

(Besides that, I think at times we are all hypocritical to some degree.)

We must see beyond faults and weaknesses of people. Looking for the best and the ideal will always leave us empty.

If others live not to our expectations, do we live up to theirs? Do we live up to our own? Is this spiritual abortion?

Preach to me, yes ... But walk before me ... show me ... love me ... and be patient. With time and love deliverance can come.

Never just love the lovely, the world does that. I feel God gives every person a few friends that always seem to be paying "HIGH STUPID TAX."

Personalities can become abrasives, but their sand paper personalties can polish us to be more like Jesus.

Why not accept this and trust God. Prayer can do what cannot be accomplished. Often times, while we pray for others to change, it is our heart that changes.

The longest distance in the world can be the 18 inches from the head to the heart!

Love rules without a sword, love binds without cords. A "bit of love" is the only bit that will bridle the tongue. Love is not "DO I HAVE TO ..."

LOVE WANTS TO...

What you love you will grow to resemble?

This reminds me of the Parable of the Rose. A certain man planted a rose and watered it faithfully and before it blossomed, he examined it.

He saw the bud that would soon blossom, but noticed thorns upon the stem and he thought, "How can any beautiful flower come from a plant burdened with so many sharp thorns?"

Saddened by his thought, he neglected to water the rose, and before it was ready to bloom, it died.

WE MUST SEE BEYOND THE THORN. God has a plan. God uses less than perfect people.

So it is with many people. Within every soul there is a rose. The God like qualities planted in us at birth, growing amid the thorns of our faults.

Many look at ourselves and see only the thorns, the defects.

We despair, thinking that nothing good can possibly

come from us.

We neglect to water the good within us, and eventually it dies. We never realize our potential.

Some people do not see the rose within themselves; someone else must show it to them.

One of the greatest gifts a person can possess is to be able to reach past the thorns and find the rose within others.

This is the characteristic of love -- to look at a person and know their true faults, yet accepting that person into your life, while recognizing the nobility in their soul.