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We should follow this on the BB.....

Discussion in '2003 Archive' started by I Am Blessed 24, Feb 25, 2003.

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  1. I Am Blessed 24

    I Am Blessed 24 Active Member

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    There seems to be so much backbiting and fingerpointing and condemnation and hatefulness in these forums lately. Maybe we should take the advice offered in this article and start looking for roses instead of thorns.

    The Rose Within

    A certain man planted a rose and watered it faithfully, and before it blossomed, he examined it. He saw the bud that would soon blossom-but also the thorns. And he thought, "How can any beautiful flower come from a plant burdened with so many sharp thorns?"

    Saddened by this thought, he neglected to water the rose, and before it was ready to bloom, it died. So it is with many people. Within every soul there is a rose. The God-like qualities planted in us at birth grow amid the thorns of our faults. Many of us look at ourselves and see only the thorns, the defects. We despair, thinking that nothing good can possibly come from us. We neglect to water the good within us, and eventually it dies. We never realize our potential. Some people do not see the rose within themselves; someone else must show it to them.

    One of the greatest gifts a person can possess is to be able to reach past the thorns and find the rose within others.This is the characteristic of love: to look at a person and, knowing his faults, recognize the nobility in his soul and help him realize that he can overcome his faults. If we show him the rose, he will conquer the thorns. Then will he blossom, blooming forth thirty, sixty, a hundred-fold as it is given to him.

    Our duty in this world is to help others by showing them their roses and not their thorns. Only then can we achieve the love we should feel for each other; only then can we bloom in our own garden.

    ~Author Unknown~

    [​IMG]
    Sue
     
    #1 I Am Blessed 24, Feb 25, 2003
  2. Sherrie

    Sherrie New Member

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    #2 Sherrie, Feb 25, 2003
  3. jonmagee

    jonmagee New Member

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    a gardener once advised me that the best roses have the most thorns on. To reach through to the beauty of the rose and admire its fragrance at close range we have to suffer the thorns. oh that we would learn to suffer the thorns as we get close to each other

    yours, Jon.
     
    #3 jonmagee, Feb 25, 2003
  4. Charlotte Marcel

    Charlotte Marcel New Member

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    That was very nice Sue. Can we try to love others the way Christ loves us? Although we will not always be able to be as generous as we would hope to be...we have to try.

    I must have missed "the backbiting and fingerpointing and condemnation and hatefulness in these forums lately" that you are speaking of. I usually don't have the physical strength or desire to take part in that sort of thing anyway. Must be the wisdom that comes with age. ;) Usually when emotions run high...I just run the other way.

    Charlotte [​IMG]
     
    #4 Charlotte Marcel, Feb 25, 2003
  5. Jim1999

    Jim1999 <img src =/Jim1999.jpg>

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    Not to worry, more will read this thread than will admit to it.

    Cheers,

    Jim
     
    #5 Jim1999, Feb 25, 2003
  6. Gina B

    Gina B Active Member

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    Ok ok, I admit I read it earlier today. [​IMG]
    However, my first thought was that iron crushes roses, so I didn't respond. :eek:
    I do understand the point though, and it's a good one to think on. [​IMG]
    Gina
     
    #6 Gina B, Feb 25, 2003
  7. blackbird

    blackbird Active Member

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    Gina,
    I think thats "Rock crushes sissors!" OK, hold your arm out so I can hit 'cha!!

    Or if you want to get real bible about it--"Iron sharpens Iron!" You hang around a true royal blueblood of a born again believer long enough you'll come out--not only smellin' like a rose but as sharp as a tack!

    Blackbird
     
    #7 blackbird, Feb 25, 2003
  8. Christian41974

    Christian41974 Guest

    Question: Are you you talking about a phyical or spiritual birth?
     
    #8 Christian41974, Feb 25, 2003
  9. ruthigirl

    ruthigirl New Member

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    This is an open discussion and we must be willing to have others disagree.

    We have to discuss and not take it personally. [​IMG]

    It is part of choosing to discuss. [​IMG]
     
    #9 ruthigirl, Feb 26, 2003
  10. Dr. Bob

    Dr. Bob Administrator
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    Roses? Quit the nasty comments? on the BB? Com'on, you're pulling my chain. :eek:

    Way too much estrogen on this thread. I'll deny I ever read it. :rolleyes:


    (seriously, thanks for the good reminder)
     
    #10 Dr. Bob, Feb 26, 2003
  11. TheOliveBranch

    TheOliveBranch New Member

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    The thought of this is nice, but it may be that the thorns need to be seen and recognized first. They Protect the rose, but the thorns are there first, and remain long after the rose is gone. Being too analytical? Maybe because I'm reading the Bible and seeing it say that if a man doesn't admit his sins, he won't see his need for a savior.

    If you'rs stating that the rose is Christ, then we make it our own fault by putting those thorns before the Lord. It's a nice thought to be able to show a man his good to get rid of his bad. The rose is not natural for man. Christ is the rose.

    I have to agree with ruthi. Can you imagine this board if our only reasoning was to see the good in others? Could you imagine what it would be like if the Lord only showed us love, not showing us that we are sinners, and having no consequence for sin? That's Utopia
     
    #11 TheOliveBranch, Feb 26, 2003
  12. jonmagee

    jonmagee New Member

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    1) I agree that the scriptures say that none of us is perfect.

    2) Let us balance that with the scriptural principle that we should strive towards perfection in His strength and enabling.

    3) As brothers and sisters in the Lord, should we be making excuses for not attempting to give the best testimony we can, even here on the board.

    4)Do we really care about our testimony if we cannot (some of us) make some attempt at an apology when we are aware that we have clearly offended a brother/sister in the Lord, even if we cannot understand how we offended them.

    yours, Jon.
     
    #12 jonmagee, Feb 26, 2003
  13. tyndale1946

    tyndale1946 Well-Known Member
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    Interesting story Sue... Now who wore a crown of thorns?... Brother Glen [​IMG]
     
    #13 tyndale1946, Feb 26, 2003
  14. I Am Blessed 24

    I Am Blessed 24 Active Member

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    Jesus did. He took on the weight of the sins of the world. Just like in the story, the thorns are our faults (sins).

    Have you ever got stuck by a thorn while picking a rose? I have, many times, and it hurts!

    Sometimes, we get stuck on someone else's thorns to the point where we forget there is a rose among the thorns if we will only look. We also forget that we have thorns just like everyone else.

    The problem is that we really have to look for the rose...the thorns are right out there to prick anyone who comes near.

    Let's not forget; the more thorns (sins) there are, the harder it will be to see the rose...but that should be our aim as Christians.

    [​IMG]
    Sue
     
    #14 I Am Blessed 24, Feb 26, 2003
  15. jonmagee

    jonmagee New Member

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    bump
     
    #15 jonmagee, Feb 27, 2003
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