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Verse:“Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?” —Matthew 6:28–30
In my living room at home, we have a beautiful orchid that blooms occasionally. Whenever it is not blooming, my wife creatively sticks an artificial orchid on it that resembles the real one. Even then, people are impressed by its beauty! As nice as they can be, artificial flowers only imitate real ones.
Artificial flowers are not alive and, consequently, do not go through the mysterious growing process. More importantly, artificial flowers do not carry God’s fingerprints! In the Advent Review and Sabbath Herald of October 27, 1885, Ellen White stated, Christ sought to draw the attention of his disciples away from the artificial to the natural: “If God so clothe the grass of the field, which to-day is, and to-morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith!” Why did not our heavenly Father carpet the earth with brown or gray? He chose the color that was most restful, the most acceptable to the senses. How it cheers the heart and refreshes the weary spirit to look upon the earth, clad in its garments of living green! Without this covering the air would be filled with dust, and the earth would appear like a desert.
Every spire of grass, every opening bud and blooming flower is a token of God’s love, and should teach us a lesson of faith and trust in him.
Christ calls our attention to their natural loveliness, and assures us that the most gorgeous array of the greatest king that ever wielded an earthly scepter was not equal to that worn by the humblest flower. You who are sighing for the artificial splendor which wealth alone can purchase, for costly paintings, furniture, and dress, listen to the voice of the divine Teacher. He points you to the flower of the field, the simple design of which cannot be equaled by human skill.”53 God gave us the Sabbath as a special day for us to contemplate the beauty of His creation (Genesis 2:1–3; Exodus 20:8–11).
May the message of nature bring us closer to Him!