Wednesday, March 3, 2010

The Lord Gave Us All Lilies

We have a lot of work to do. Have I done any good in the world today? I haven't even gotten dressed today. The world has no use for the drone. Deleted. To God each good deed will be known. And so He knows that I haven't even gotten dressed yet today.

Consider the lilies of the field. They are so beautiful and they softly shift together in the wind, making a gentle dance as the float in time on the breeze. God covers the lands with lilies and flowers of all sorts because he clothes the earth with beauty for our enjoyment.

Aren't we greater than the lilies, which toil not nor spin? We are God's children. He created the lilies and everything else for our enjoyment and for a perfect balance in this world he gave us. And He will clothe us from day to day, but he will not personally dress us. We've got to do some things on our own. But he knows us fully, and he understands us when we have not yet dressed for the day.

The lily's life is short. They will pass away as grass in an oven. Our lives here are fleeting, too. But if we improve upon our time in this life, if we learn to dress ourselves not only in our clothes, but in the whole armor of God, God will clothe us with glory from on high in the resurrection. We were not made to pass away as dust in the wind, but to live eternally in our Father's presense. We are better than lilies to Him. We were created for His enjoyment. We are His children, and His greatest desire is for us to return home to Him.

Consider the lilies. Consider your clothing. Consider your talents. Consider sharing the lilies, your clothing, your talents, your God-given blessings with those around you. There is much work to be done. Get dressed and get going. You can help to clothe others with those things that are essential for them to have in their lives, even as the Lord feeds and clothes you each day. Be His son or His daughter. Clothe the world and your brothers and sisters like he does, and then float gently in a beautiful dance. Be in harmony with God, with yourself, with others, and with the lilies.

At the end of Elder McConkies life, he was extremely ill from cancer, but every morning he would fully dress in a suit. Even while lying on his deathbed, he would pray that if God were be willing to give him the strength, he would get off of that bed and go minister. I would like to develop the faith to want to minsiter even when I don't feel like getting dressed or preparing for the day. I would like to develop the love for others so that I do not have fear. Perfect love, we are told, casts out all fear.

So even though I am getting dressed late today, it is not too late for me to get dressed, and I will be dressed earlier tomorrow. The Lord knows the good things that I have done today, and he knows that I am capable of doing more. He will gently remind us of those things that are important for us to do, those things that are important to Him. So I'll press out of my comfort zone dressed to minister. Would you like a lily?

No comments:

Post a Comment