The Expressive Plant

by | May 23, 2005 | Treasure

I have a fascinating plant in my dining room. I don’t know what kind it is, but it is gorgeous. It has long, oval-shaped, dark green leaves that droop a little bit, and it produces amazing white flowers. It doesn’t seem to mind indirect light. In fact, it thrives, no matter what! Or at least, that’s what I THOUGHT!

Last Spring my wife and I decided to embellish the plants in our home. A nearby greenhouse was having a special sale on their entire selection of clay pots. Now, these pots were not your usual plain, reddish-brown clay pots! They came in a variety of colors and shapes, and a beautiful, intricate design was etched into each one. With the help of our sons, we decided on blue pots with an attractive design, the perfect thing to fit into our décor, and back home, I transplanted all of our plants into those pots.

Sure enough, our home was brightened by their presence. The plant in question however, didn’t seem to be too sure that this was actually an improvement, and the next day it began to clearly show its disapproval: all of its leaves began to droop! The plant looked like it was dying! I checked the soil, and it was moist enough, so I gave it some special fertilizer. By mid-week, it was obvious that the fertilizer hadn’t helped. The leaves were drooping more than ever. I decided to give it a bit more water, but to no avail.

This went on for a full two weeks, but nothing I could do seemed to make a difference. The plant continued to look dreadfully ill. “Could it be the pot?” I wondered out loud.

“That’s ridiculous!” Responded my wife. “A plant doesn’t care what kind of a pot it’s in! Besides, all of the other plants you transplanted are doing fine!”

Logically, her words made sense, but since there didn’t seem to be anything else to do, I decided to try an experiment. I planted the plant back in its original, ordinary-looking plastic pot. To my amazement it perked up almost immediately! By the next day, the leaves no longer drooped, and the plant looked once again like its healthy self!

Now we have a house full of plants planted in beautiful pots, and one in a very different-looking container. But hey, if that’s the pot this plant prefers to live in, we get the message!

For some reason this reminded me of the following text: “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men’s bones and everything unclean. In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.” (Matt 23:27-28 NIV)

So often we judge people by their outward appearance, but in doing so, we are usually always disappointed. Take, for example, a new president or premier. Everybody is excited. “Boy, what a great leader we have! He is full of life!” Then, a few months later, a lot of people are disenchanted. What seemed to be so promising became a disillusionment. That beautiful clay pot may have looked wonderful to us, but the plant was suffocating inside of it!

The opposite is often true as well. We see someone, and immediately think: “Boy, this person is no good news. He means trouble. It’s in his looks!” Only to discover later on that this is really a wonderful person! And interestingly, that very one who we judged so harshly, often begins to look more beautiful in our eyes. Why? Because it is the words and deeds that truly make a person beautiful! My plant is beautiful, and we don’t even notice the plain, brown plastic pot it is planted in.

May we learn to stop judging by appearance! May we learn to get to know those who are around us instead of immediately passing judgment. May we learn from them and share with them the Good News that resides in us: Jesus Christ! Remember, you can’t help but feel attractive on the inside when Jesus shines through you! He’s the one who can turn you into a truly attractive person. He is the one who makes people truly stunning, and He cares for you!

“Now you’re dressed in a new wardrobe. Every item of your new way of life is custom-made by the Creator, with his label on it. All the old fashions are now obsolete… So, chosen by God for this new life of love, dress in the wardrobe God picked out for you: compassion, kindness, humility, quiet strength, discipline. Be even-tempered, content with second place, quick to forgive an offense. Forgive as quickly and completely as the Master forgave you. And regardless of what else you put on, wear love. It’s your basic, all-purpose garment. Never be without it.” (Col 3:10, 12-14 The Message)

How are your inward looks?

Rob Chaffart

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