God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us. (Acts 17:27) (NIV)
Grandmother Sky awoke before the sun, dusted rouge on her eastern cheeks, and readied herself for the daily entertainment. She loved to watch the courtship between the sun and the flowers below.
The sunflowers had pined through the night over the absence of their beloved. Now they faced the place where he would rise again. As the sun’s first rays streamed over the hills, the sunflowers rose up. Their yellow heads followed every inch of his movement until by evening they faced west. Then they turned back to the east and awaited his return.
What Grandmother Sky witnessed was a living analogy. The mature believer is not measured by the attainment of perfection, but by the stretch of their reach.
Young sunflowers are heliotropic. That is, they track the sun. Daylight causes a chemical reaction that pumps more water into the cells on the shadow side of the stem. This pushes the head toward the sun.
I need to be heliotropic. I must pump truth into my darkest side until my head turns to urgently face Christ.
Jesus deserves passionate followers, not apathetic sleepers. That’s why his Spirit speaks in whispers and by varied means. If I always knew how he was going to communicate, only that one area of my life would be attentive. As it is, I must draw out my intellect in Bible study, extend my spirit in prayer, and exert my heart to hear God’s wisdom through others. Every area of my life must strain after the Son.
I hope Grandmother Sky will one day look down, see me reaching, and say, “There he is, another sonflower.”
Prayer: Shining Messiah, I will reach for you with all that I am.