Roses are red...and other colors.

Only one life to offer--Jesus, my Lord and King;

Only one tongue to praise Thee and of Thy mercy sing (forever);

Only one heart's devotion--Savior, O may it be

Consecrated alone to Thy matchless glory, yielded fully to Thee.

Only this hour is mine, Lord--may it be used for Thee;

May ev'ry passing moment count for eternity (my Savior);

Souls all about are dying, dying in sin and shame;

Help me bring them the message of Calvary's redemption in Thy glorious name.

Only one life to offer--take it, dear Lord, I pray;

Nothing from Thee withholding, Thy will I now obey (my Jesus);

Thou who hast freely given Thine all in all for me,

Claim this life for Thine own to be used, my Savior, ev'ry moment for Thee.

Take a minute to think about a rose. Maybe it's not your favorite flower, but it has a lot of petals and details.  A rose has one life that is very limited, however.  One day it is very small, surrounded by a green guard.  The next day it opens into a small, yet beautiful flower that grows and intensifies in beauty.  It keeps becoming more beautiful until it comes to the end of its life.  It is the recipient of many people's awe, although it is only a little flower with a life that will fade away quickly.

In a similar way our lives are limited and quickly passing.  But is it beautiful?  Do our lives make people see how beautiful GOD is?  Do we draw people's attention to God through our inner beauty?  You know, it's not all in how we look on the outside.  It has much more to do with living well.  How often we need to remember that we have only ONE life to offer.  It may be short.  It may be painful.  But is it full and a lovely thing to God?

(admire these roses with colors and petals each so perfect!  God is amazing, and even that can be seen in just a little rose.)