Crown Of Thorns

In my living room sits a plant that is called "The Crown of Thorns", also known as "The Christ Plant". It is a member of the Poinsettia family. It is said that the crown of thorns worn by Christ at the time of His crucifixion was made from the stems of this plant. It has beautiful small red flowers that bloom all year. Every week, I see some of the stems and flowers wilt, and it is at that time that I pick them off. I have to be careful, though, because the sticky white sap that oozes from the stem is poisonous to people who are susceptible to skin rashes. I am not one of those people who are harmed by the white sap, so I don't think twice about removing the wilted leaves, stems, and flowers.

I was sitting in my chair and noticed that I had missed picking off quite a few wilted leaves, stems, and flowers. I was looking at the plant from a different point of view.

This made me think of how we look at certain things that occur within our lives and how we judge things or people from our point of view. Perhaps we need to look from a different perspective — a different point of view — and realize that the things that occur within our lives, or in the lives of our fellow human beings, are really not what they appear to be. Perhaps then we would adopt a different perspective or point of view and judge things differently.

1 Samuel 16:7 – But the Lord said to Samuel, "Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart." (NASB)

Prayer: Thank you, dear Lord, that You see things as a whole. You see us from Your holy and loving perspective. Teach us to see and listen from a different perspective than what we are used to. Teach us to love as Christ loves. Amen.

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