The Alternate
I have a stack of garden catalogs sitting beside my computer. Next to them is a brand new tablet of graph paper..now the fun begins! I have an area in the front corner of our new acreage designated for my first flower garden. I used to dream of having a rose garden but recent events have caused me to rethink my plan. There is a disease called Rose Rosette that has become a considerable threat to cultivated roses. Rose rosette, (also known as “witches’ broom”) is a virus that is spread by an extremely small mite. The earliest symptoms include a red coloring to the underside of leaf veins, followed by a dramatic increase in growth of vegetative shoots. These shoots look abnormally succulent and also have various shades of red color. Leaves usually become deformed, crinkled and brittle. The rose bush will eventually die. The mite that transmits this disease is wingless but travels in the wind as well as on contaminated clothing and tools. A city park in Tulsa, Oklahoma has lost almost two thirds of the 3,000 roses in their popular rose garden.
There is no known cure for Rose rosette. Some experts recommend strategies to keep this disease at bay such as: 1) removing entire effected plants, (roots and all) and destroying them by burning or placing in a plastic bag. 2) Control the disease by controlling the mite; prune roses back 2/3 in late winter and spray with horticultural oil. Refrain from using leaf blowers that help spread mites. 3) Isolate roses and give them extra spacing. I heard a speaker from a wholesale nursery recommend planting “Princess Crapemyrtles in place of the popular Knockout roses. Knockout roses have gained popularity over the past few years because of their low maintenance and profuse blooming habits.They are beautiful in a hedge, along a fence, lot line, or as the back drop to a garden. However, not even the Knockout rose is immune to the dreaded Rose rosette disease. The Princess crapemyrtles ‘Kylie’ and ‘Lyla’ grow to a moderate 1.5 – 3 foot tall and wide. They are cold tolerant, disease resistant and preform wonderfully in beds, containers or mass plantings. Heat and drought tolerant, these plants are a perfect..alternate.
For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.” 2 Corinthians 5:21
The longer I live the more I see the relationship between nature and our human existence. There is a “disease” of sorts that threatens the lives of us all. It is the disease of sin. Romans 3:23 tells us, “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;” This week is the most important week of the year for those of us who call ourselves Christians. It is the week we celebrate Easter. Sadly, I think that we often take for granted and minimize what actually happened over two thousand years ago. We’ve heard the story so many times we forget that a sinless, blameless, innocent man was beaten so severely He no longer looked human, (Isaiah 52:14.) Why? Because He loved. He loved all of humanity that has ever or will live. He hung naked and disgraced, for me..for you.
“But he was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed. All of us, like sheep, have strayed away. We have left God’s paths to follow our own. Yet the Lord laid on him the sins of us all.” Isaiah 53:5-6
There have been times in my life when I have felt very much alone. I felt there was no one who could ever understand the pain, rejection, and disgrace that over whelmed me. But, that was not the truth. The truth is that Jesus Christ endured all those things, and more. He took upon Himself every disease, addiction, shame, and sin that human kind would ever know.
We live in a time when so many people are hurting and looking for truth. Society bombards us with shallow answers and theories on what will make us happy and complete. Yet, instead of happiness the hole of despair and hopelessness gets deeper. That is because in our own strength and reasoning there is no cure for the disease of sin. We need the only true alternate; a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. He is the only one who died for us, then, rose up alive and well three days later. He is alive and well today.
“Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.” John 14:6
How is your heart today, my friends? Are you trapped in a tomb of sickness, depression, oppression, and feeling…lost? There is an answer. Some of us need to remind ourselves that we have been rescued. We need to make time each day for the one true love of our life, Jesus Christ. We need to go back and reread the Gospels and renew our hope through His Word.
But, if you are reading this and you are thinking, “ I really don’t know much about this Jesus you’re talking about. All I do know is that I feel empty and I’m tired of running…I’d like to have a life change that I have heard is possible through faith in Him.” If that is you, say this simple prayer out loud: “Jesus, I have come to the realization that I can not live my life on my own. I ask you to forgive me of my sins, come into my heart. Take control of my life and help me to know you more. Teach me through Your Word and thank you for the hope that I now have in you, in Jesus name, amen.”
“…anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!” 2 Corinthians 5:17
It is so fitting that Easter is celebrated in the season of Spring. God’s creation comes out of the lifeless winter. It is a reminder that we too have come out of life without meaning to a new life of hope and a brand new beginning. Let our hearts overflow with a joy this Sunday morning as we think on this truth: The Alternate has taken our place, and we new in Him.