Clock Flower
The dandelion is an amazing creation packed full of symbolism for the Christian life.
To most, it is a weed. An eyesore, in what should be a wholly green lawn, that needs to be destroyed. Millions are spent on products designed to do just that. The goal is to remove all trace of this “weed” and leave only grass. Uniformity. Sameness. Neat. Tidy. Clean.
I’m glad God is different. God loves diversity. You can see it everywhere. His creation screams diversity. His church does as well.
“After this I looked, and there was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, robed in white, with palm branches in their hands.” -Revelation 7:9
I’m glad God doesn’t weed out those that are different, but instead celebrates them. He created us to be who we are and He does not want us all to be uniform, neat and tidy. God loves us in the mess and never expects anyone to clean themselves up. He works on His children graciously and never removes the individuality that makes them unique.
This seemingly useless weed is also extremely useful. For children, the yellow flower is a source of color. I recall smearing it on my arms to color them yellow. Why? Why not? I took countless dandelions to my mother, each one cherished by her as if they were the most prized orchid. I have witnessed my dad pick the greens and eat them right out of the yard on several occasions. He would usually eat the flower too. He does that. Kindly grazes in the yard sometimes. I greatly enjoy dandelion greens in my salads as well, though I don’t pick them out of the yard. Dandelions are full of nutrition and also are thought to offer some medicinal qualities. Quite useful for a common weed.
I love that God has created each person with a different set of giftedness. How boring life would be if we were all the same. Green grass. No color. No variation of foods or medicines. But, instead God has gifted his children diversely.
“Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of services, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. . . All these are activated by the one and the same Spirit, who allots to each one individually just as the Spirit chooses.” -I Corinthians 12:4–7, 11
I am so thankful for the diversity of gifts that God gives to His people for the good of His people. We need to be careful not to try to have others conform to our giftedness, but to let them be who God created them to be for the purpose for which He created them.
What a beautiful parable the dandelion is turning out to be for us.
One final lesson I see in the dandelion. It is when they die, that they then reproduce and produce life anew. This is the case with all plants I suppose, but few do it as beautifully as the dandelion. It is at this phase of the dandelion that it gets the name Clock Flower.
Who among us has never picked up these dandelion puffs, made a wish, and blown, sending the seeds flying into the air. What a joy to children everywhere.
As Christians, we are told many times in scripture to die to self.
“I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” -Galatians 2:20
“And he said to all, ‘If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.’” -Luke 9:23
“Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.” -John 12:24
This picture of dying in order to live, dying in order to bear fruit. It is a familiar picture that is easily understood by anyone who grows plants and is so beautifully seen in the dandelion puff.
If we, as Christians, wish to truly live, we must deny ourselves, die to self, and follow Jesus. It is only then that we will truly live and our lives will make an eternal impact in the lives of those we touch, in the spiritual lives that we help to produce by dying.
Let us then be like the clock flower. Let us dare to be different, as God made us. Let us flourish in the specific giftedness that God has given us. And let us die that we may live and that our lives will have an eternal impact.
And, as always, let us love one another.
