Hybrid

In my yard there are some gorgeous well established camellia bushes just starting to bloom. This morning I noticed a very distinct flower. It truly looked as though one bloom from each of two bushes had been cut exactly in half and molded together creating a hybrid of the solid fuchsia and swirled cream and fuchsia bushes.

Seeing that visual started me thinking about my relationship with Christ; how my spiritual walk sometimes looks like that hybrid. There's me and there's Christ in me. To see the full cream bloom with a thread of fuchsia, is the start of growth. This growth occurs as I yield to the changes the Holy Spirit makes as He works in my life for their must be yielding in order for the fusion of my spiritual walk to affect permanent change in my life. As I allow the Lord to do more, He does, and then my life looks more like the full fuchsia blooms in the bush next to where I saw the hybrid bloom. What a picture that too makes! The full fuchsia bloom with no cream is like the full covering of the blood of Christ; none of me remains. This is how God sees those who have chosen to follow Him. We are covered in the blood; all of our sins washed away...visible NO MORE!

When I saw that distinct line of demarcation in the bloom, I wondered...is that where I am? Have I put the brakes on the Holy Spirit's work in me? Have I ceased to yield? The Lord Jesus will ONLY come into our hearts as far as we allow Him. He never pushes but does desire to have our whole heart. It really gave me pause to examine how that bloom can reflect our lives and the state of our spiritual growth.

As I did today, I encourage you to look inward at your own heart...what colors do you see there? Is there an area of your life you are not giving over to God? Is there an aspect of your life you are choosing to keep separate? Where is your line of demarcation? Are you still simply swirls of cream and fuchsia or is the full fuchsia of the Holy Spirit showing Himself in the bloom of your heart? We are all at different stages and none of us will ever reach 'perfection' until Heaven. However, we can choose to yield ALL areas of our life to the Holy Spirit; letting Him have His way in our life and choosing to reflect Christ each day. We will fail and we will fall short. Do not beat yourself down when that happens. Get back up and re-yield to Christ! Then you will begin to see the bloom of your heart move from a hybrid bloom to a full fuchsia bloom as you are fully consumed by the Holy Spirit.