When you think of dirty roses is there any spiritual application that comes to mind? What is the first thought you have? The first thought I had was "how do dirty roses apply to anything spiritual?"
Perhaps you wonder the same thing I did or perhaps your brain operates a bit faster and you can pick up something spiritual immediately. I guess i settle with some of our brains were fearfully and wonderfully made to operate fast and others a bit slower all for the glory of God lol 🙂
So moving on, a few days ago I heard a story by Matt Chandler about a man who used the "dirty roses" analogy to make a point about sexually dirty women.
The application of this analogy applied as such:
Just as a rose, once fully blossomed is beautiful, full, and vibrant in color, until human hands demolish them, women are pure, untainted, and undefiled, until they are passed around from guy to guy, potentially acquiring some sort of STD.
Now the rose has lost its vibrant color and is dull!
Now the rose has lost its fragrance and has the scent of human sweat!
Now the rose has lost its shape and has been torn into two!
"Who would want or display this dirty, torn, disgrace of a rose ?"
"Who would want a girl whose been passed around like a pack of cigarettes?" The speaker proclaimed
The problem with this whole " dirty roses" analogy is that the speaker was a preacher of the gospel, but in this analogy he seemed to miss a vital truth of the gospel. I hope that he never uses this analogy again because it's not how the mind and heart of Christ operates!
The truth that was far from this analogy is that Christ delights in the "dirty roses." He delights in them so much that he has purposely chosen the adulterer (sexually immoral/dirty rose), the broken, the lowly, the weak, and the foolish.
1 Corinthians 1: 27 But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; 28 God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, 29 so that no human being might boast in the presence of God
John 8: 1 Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. 2 Early in the morning he came again to the temple. All the people came to him, and he sat down and taught them. 3 The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery, and placing her in the midst 4 they said to him, "Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery. 5 Now in the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?" 6 This they said to test him, that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. 7 And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, "Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her." 8 And once more he bent down and wrote on the ground. 9 But when they heard it, they went away one by one, beginning with the older ones, and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. 10 Jesus stood up and said to her, "Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?" 11 She said, "No one, Lord." And Jesus said, "Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more."
I love that John 8, crushes the analogy of the "dirty roses". This adulterous women deserved death, yet Christ said I condemn you not!
I love that the creator of all things pursue us in his love and compassion choosing to restore us and display his glory through us to a fallen world. Again who wants to display this torn, smelly, disgrace of a rose? Christ does:)
I love that we are all dirty roses saturated in iniquity and we are men and women of unclean lips, eyes, and ears. However, if we are in Christ, he deals with it driving us to repentance and he commissions us to go and proclaim his gospel to every dirty rose on the face of this planet, giving them the one and only hope that restores all things and makes all things new!
Christ is Lord, Christ is King
