Tag Archive for Lo How a Rose E’er Blooming

See How God’s Flower Blossoms

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See how God’s flower blossoms
From dry and hardened earth,
And from our sin and darkness,
A child of humble birth;
So small for such a need,
Yet all of love’s long promise
Is in that tiny seed.

The breath of God eternal
Fills fragile flesh and bone
With truth and love and beauty
That glows of God alone.
And we have seen His face–
The glory of the Father,
The flower of His grace.

This flower is now a garden,
The fruit of that small seed,
A promise green and growing,
An Eden yet to be.
O Christ, our heart’s delight!
We rise and bloom and flourish
In You, our love and life!

Promises

During Advent we see Jesus, not as flesh and blood reality, but as a promise, a hope, a silhouette of our coming salvation. During Christmas He is still a helpless baby who only does…what babies do. Yet even before the human Jesus did anything, simply through His coming He painted a beautiful portrait of our God:

  • This God has worked for millennia to save us from death and bring us back to Himself. His plan was born long before we were, and it will continue until it is completed.
  • While we wait for that completion, He encourages and draws us through promises. And He carefully keeps every promise, even when the wait seems endless. Christ’s birth proves that God keeps His promises. Be assured that His promised second coming will happen as well.
  • God describes Himself in terms we can understand. But no description, no name, no combination of roles does Him justice. He is a King, yet a Servant…a Mighty Warrior, yet a Shepherd. He is both Prophet and Priest…a powerful Lion and a Lamb to be slaughtered. Our God overflows all these descriptions.
  • God is also a patient gardener. He loves to grow things! He is growing for us a life that is deep and rich and fruitful beyond our wildest imaginings. But it starts from a tiny seed and must grow slowly and naturally. We have to nurture it. We have to wait for it.
  • Beyond all these, first and foremost, our God is a Father.
  • This Father dearly loves “ordinary” people. He loves them like His own children.
  • God embraces human life from the roots up. This 100% God became 100% human that we might become 100% like Him. 

Listen and sing:
Hymn: See How God’s Flower Blossoms
Recording
Printed Music & Lyrics