Outdoor Object Lesson 97: Worry Like A Flower

Key Text

"Why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow. They don’t toil, neither do they spin, yet I tell you that even Solomon in all his glory was not dressed like one of these." Matthew 6:28-29 (WEB)

Lesson

What is your favorite color of flower? You can find nearly every color of the rainbow. Some colors are more rare like green or even black. Others are abundant like yellow. What is your favorite type of flower? There are over 400,000 flowering plants in the world, so your bound to find one to like.1 Some are big and intricate. Others are small and plain. Some have wonderful scents, others have a horrid stench and some have almost no scent at all. 

There are flowers that grow in all types of places. Some grow in extreme areas where few plants or animals live. The Velvet mesquite (Prosopis velutina) grows in the desert in the southwestern United States. It can with stand the hot desert temperatures that can reach 104 degrees F (40 degrees C) and in the winter temps can drop below freezing! To find water in the parched ground it sends its roots up to 164 feet (50 meters) deep!2

Other flowering plants can grow in extreme cold and at very high elevations. One flower, Christolea himalayensis, grows on high mountains in the Himalayas. It has been recorded growing over 20,000 feet (6300 m) and freezes and thaws again each day.3 There are even flowers that grow underwater. A species of seagrass, Thalassia testudinum, has flowers that grow completely underwater. It even depends on small water animals to help pollinate the flowers.4 

God made so many different beautiful flowers. Did you know that Jesus talked about flowers? In the Key Text Jesus was speaking to his listeners about worrying too much. He reminded them to depend on God who has the power to provide all our needs. Jesus reminded his listeners how beautiful God makes flowers. Yet they don't worry about getting clothes, making money, or finding food. They depend fully on God for everything they need. Humans live much longer than flowers do as you know if you have ever picked any flowers. Yet, we often worry about whether we will have everything we need. Jesus reminded his listeners in the same sermon, that God already knows our needs even before we ask him. We don't need to worry. If we trust God, and ask him for what we need, he will provide. 

Questions

Do you or your family like to keep flowers in your house or lawn?

Does the Key Text mean that God will give us anything we ask for?

What if we do not get what we ask for in prayer, does that mean God has broken his promise?

How can we learn to trust that God will give us what he knows is best?

Sources

1. ProFlowers, “151 Types of Flowers Common in the U.S.,” ProFlowers.com (March, 19, 2019), accessed May 31, 2019 from https://www.proflowers.com/blog/types-of-flowers.
2. Jill Richardson, "Desert plants: The ultimate survivors," Science News for Students online, (January 30, 2015) accessed March 31, 2019 from

https://www.sciencenewsforstudents.org/article/desert-plants-ultimate-survivors.
3. lucy, "Surviving in mountains: the highest places in the world where plants flower," Wild World online, (June 10, 2011) accessed March 31, 2019 from http://iberianature.com/wildworld/surviving-in-mountains-the-highest-places-in-the-world-where-plants-flower/.
4. Matt, "Underwater Pollinators," In Defense of Plants online, (October 31, 2016) accessed March 31, 2019 from http://www.indefenseofplants.com/blog/2016/10/31/underwater-pollinators.

Written by David F. Garner
Photo credit: DeltaWorks via www.pixabay.com