Advent-ure 2020 December 11: Rose of Sharon (Coach's Counsel)

God has called us into a relationship that is based on His incredible, unlimited love for us, and we can respond to Him by entering into His presence and seeking His face. Psalm 27 says:
4 One thing I have desired of the Lord, That will I seek: That I may dwell in the house of the Lord All the days of my life, To behold the beauty of the Lord, And to inquire in His temple.
5 For in the time of trouble He shall hide me in His pavilion; In the secret place of His tabernacle He shall hide me; He shall set me high upon a rock.
6 And now my head shall be lifted up above my enemies all around me; Therefore I will offer sacrifices of joy in His tabernacle; I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to the Lord.

We have been invited to come before His throne of grace, to enter into His presence, and to appreciate His love and His beauty.  Although we can't see Him now, but will see Him face to face, we can begin to understanding how amazing that He is, full of might and majesty, and be drawn to worship His name. So, we pursue intimate fellowship with our great Savior, who wants to spend time with us and invites us to spend time with Him.

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We can appreciate our Lord for His beauty - there are all sorts of references in the Scriptures that refer to His loveliness - one of which is found in Isaiah 33:
15 He who walks righteously and speaks uprightly, He who despises the gain of oppressions, Who gestures with his hands, refusing bribes, Who stops his ears from hearing of bloodshed, And shuts his eyes from seeing evil:
16 He will dwell on high; His place of defense will be the fortress of rocks; Bread will be given him, His water will be sure.
17 Your eyes will see the King in His beauty; They will see the land that is very far off.

There is a term of endearment in Song of Solomon chapter 2, which is an extended love song, or poem, between a man, presumably King Solomon, and his intended bride.  When we consider the relationship between Christ and His Church, the reference to the "rose of Sharon" here can remind us of how we are to regard our Lord. The verse reads: "I am the rose of Sharon, And the lily of the valleys."

Our 11th day of the 25-Day Christmas Advent-ure features the term from Song of Solomon 2:1 - the Rose of Sharon.  

I did some reading on that term, the "rose of Sharon," a reference to a flower growing on a plain area in Israel, and concluded that this term can refer to the beauty of the Lord, something we should affirm and adore.  He desires for us to honor and worship Him, to highly regard Him, and to know His abundant love for us.

In discovering more about our Savior and cherishing our purpose, we can experience meaning and satisfaction in our lives.  That's the essence of what championship head football coach at Clemson University had to say on a radio talk show the other night, as reported by ChristianHeadlines.com.  The article says:

...15-year-old fan, Jordan, asked the coach what he would tell 15-year-old Dabo Swinney what he had learned about life.

The Clemson Insider and Sports Spectrum each reported the comments.

In response, Coach Swinney said, "The most important thing is you were created on purpose," adding, "You have a thumbprint. There are billions of people in this world, and you are the only one with your thumbprint. And God intended it to be that way, so you are the only one that can leave the imprint that He has given you."  But, the coach was not finished.  He went on to say: "If you will build your life on a foundation of faith, then you will know true peace and happiness. If you build it on anything else, or seek happiness in anything else, then you are going to always be let down."

He went on to quote what he referred to as one of His favorite verses in the Bible:

...Jeremiah 29:11 says, 'For I know the plans I have for you.' Not that I think I know," Swinney said, according to The Clemson Insider. "God says, 'For I know the plans I have for — not everyone — for you.' Those are plans for good, not disaster. Plans to give you a future and a hope.

Dabo told the young caller:

"I love that Bible verse because if you really grab onto that, you are going to have some challenges, you are going to have some disappointments, you are going to have some setbacks, you are going to have some failures and you are going to have some successes, but if you can hang on to that, God never says, 'Oops!' God never says, 'My Bad!' Then again, if there is hope in the future, then there is power in the present to deal with whatever comes your way. There is nothing that is going to happen to you that you and God can't handle together."

In his concluding comments, he said that "the happiest people in the world...take what they have and do the best they can with it."

Jesus is likened unto a beautiful flower in Song of Solomon 2, the Rose of Sharon, as well as the lily of the valleys. We can remember to love and cherish God - His ways are right and His presence is beautiful.  Seek it out - come to know Him.  We can reside in a place of satisfaction, a place where there is an absence of fear and anxiety, where the peace of God is abundant.  In our valleys, we know that Jesus is right there with us.

We realize that we have been invited into a relationship with the God who sent His Son to lay down His life.  And, He did it for you!  Jesus came and died for you - we worship our beautiful Savior who died so that we might live.

In the beauty of Christmas, we can strive not to get so caught up in the celebration that we miss the One whom we celebrate - Christ, our Rose of Sharon, the lily of the valleys. God wants us to enjoy His presence like a beautiful flower.  He is the One who brings meaning and purpose to our lives.