#216 LIKE RED ON A ROSE 10-1-26

Red on a rose. It is not loud. It does not demand attention. It simply belongs there. The color brings the flower to life, making its beauty impossible to miss.

That reminds me of what Jesus does in a human life. He does not merely decorate us. He changes us from the inside out. “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new” (2 Corinthians 5:17).

Sometimes we look at our past and see only the scars, the mistakes, and the things we wish we could erase. But Jesus sees something else. He sees what grace can make of a surrendered life. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow” (Isaiah 1:18).

The beauty of a rose is not that it never had thorns. The beauty is that the thorns do not prevent it from blooming.

Maybe you have some thorns of your own. Keep blooming. Keep trusting. Keep walking with Jesus.

His grace can bring beauty into places where you once saw only brokenness. And when Christ is present, even the scars can become part of the story of redemption.

BDD