The Fading Flower

by Gene Easley  

“Let the brother of low degree rejoice in that he is exalted: ¹⁰But the rich, in that he is made low: because as the flower of the grass he shall pass away. ¹¹For the sun is no sooner risen with a burning heat, but it withereth the grass, and the flower thereof falleth, and the grace of the fashion of it perisheth: so also shall the rich man fade away in his ways” (James 1:9-11).  

    We know that life on earth is temporary.  An expiration date is stamped on us all.  I am not saying that we have a certain day that we will die regardless.  The Bible doesn’t teach that, but it does teach that we all have an appointment with death.  We may reach our 70 years or by reason of strength see 80 or beyond.  But our day is coming when we will make our exit.  

    You can look at most of us who have been in this world for a while and tell that the intense heat has taken its toll.  The natural man is withering away.  The natural appearance is as the fading flower.  Its days of glory are gone.  

    The flower blooms and catches the attention of all passers-by.  They stop and marvel at the beauty.  But allow only a short span of time to pass, and the petals wilt and the beauty fades.  The decaying process takes place before our eyes.  As age gathers its days and as the increase of those days brings us to the status of the elderly, there is normally a diminishing of skills, influence, and power.  

    Our lives quickly vanish as a vapor, and our moment on stage seems so short.  We may depart feeling we never learned our lines well and didn’t reach the pinnacle of our once-youthful aspirations.  So why even play our part on earth?  Why should we even show up on stage?  Is it only for the fleeting pleasure of the passing moment?  If the grave is our ultimate reward, why bother?  But we fulfill our place in time because it is beyond the grave that life has its true fulfillment!  The hope of that eternal reward is what makes everything here on earth make sense.  

    We take comfort as believers that though the outward man perish, the inward man is renewed day by day.  But the fact remains, the heat has taken its toll on the flower.  We are forced to recognize the temporal state of this life and the brevity of it.  We are forced to look beyond the veil of the earthly and to place our affections on the heavenly.  We are forced to bow out with a sense of understanding that after we have done all, we really are unprofitable servants.  In other words, no matter our accomplishments, all were done by His power and grace.  Then, eternity must weigh the true effectiveness of our labors--whether they be gold or silver or wood, hay, or stubble.  

    James 1:12 speaks of a crown that is given after the trying and after the temptations.  There will come a day when all things will be new.  We will have a new body, and we will have a new home.  The weakness and the wrinkles of age of the faded flower will no longer be evident.  We will shine as stars in their strength.  We do not weep over this fading flower but rejoice in the hope that is to come.  Whether our earthly possessions be many or few, they will all vanish away as nothing in the sight of that Celestial City.  

    So, as this earthly body ages and its decay is witnessed by all around us, we still pray for healing when this body is sick, and we pray for strength to make it through the day.  But we do it with an awareness that the fading of the flower is a prophetic message.  It is not just that this life is about to end, but that a new one is about to begin.  And the glory that awaits us will make suffering for Christ worth it all!  

    In the eternal presence of God, the righteous will bloom and never fade again.  Our reward will come according to our works on earth.  If we spend our time shining for Him, none of it will be spent in vain.  Those who love Christ will find the fading flower resurrected to life anew on the other side!  Praise God!

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