IS LIFE A BED OF ROSES?
by Clifton Inman
It seems to me that a bed of roses is an appropriate
description of life. Some have a hard time with life because they
can never see its flowers. These are so conscious of the thorns
that they never appreciate the flowers. A bed of roses is a mixture
of thorns and flowers, so is life.
Jesus told one man who wished to follow Him that
he did not have the comforts to offer him that a fox or a bird had
— He had no place to lay His head. He told the apostles as
He sent them on the limited commission that those in their own household
would be their enemies.
The Holy Spirit guided Peter to say, “Beloved, think it not
strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though
some strange thing happened unto you” (1 Pet. 4:12). Again,
He guided him to say, “That the trial of your faith, being
much more precious than of gold that perisheth…” (1
Pet. 1:7).
Most people who work with roses wear gloves. They
can work among petunias, marigolds, and most other flowers without
the gloves; but if they take care of roses without the gloves, their
hands suffer many scratches. Anyone who has worked with roses however,
finds them most rewarding. Those who grapple with life find many
a painful scratch along the way, but the flowers, which bloom as
a reward of their work, are worth every effort and painful scratch.
The trials become precious.
As you live life, let it be to you a bed of roses.
Expect to receive the thorn pricks, but take time to smell and appreciate
the beautiful roses. He who would smell the roses must endure the
thorns.
Copied from Central, Clearwater’s bulletin
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