Have you ever thought? What does it take for me to be recognized by God and to get into Heaven? I know that we can’t beat God‘s giving, He’s the ultimate gift giver and a master of blessings. But to be seen as Christ like, what does that look like? One thing I want to always have more of is “Humility”. The dictionary, defines humility as modesty, lacking pretense, not believing that you’re superior to others. The Bible states that true humility seeks to bring glory and honor to God and looks out for the interests of others. (Col. 3:12-14, Phil.2:3-8) Christ gives us a perfect example of humility. He went to the cross and gave up his life so that others might live.
After experiencing three deaths in my family within the past eight months, I listened to their eulogies and started to wonder, do I reflect an image of Christ like ways? Am I giving the world my gift from God? Do I reflect humility upon others, and will God be pleased with my life?
Many months ago, God instilled me with the attraction of sunflowers and what they represent. Everything that God creates has significance for its existence. God opened my eyes to this bright plant for a reason. When the spirit leads you to or draws your attention to something search and study it. I suggest that you find its natural origin and discover what’s attracting you to it.
After reading several articles and scientific studies, I discovered that Sunflowers are symbolic for happiness, optimism, honesty, longevity, peace, admiration, and devotion. The sunflower possibly surpasses all others in terms of its universal power to bring joy to people.
Sunflowers are a symbol of hope, promise, and faith in nature. This flower signifies that there is always life after death because it continues to bloom
despite all odds stacked against it.
Yellow Sunflowers 
represent goodness, life-giving, truth, endurance, and timelessness.
Yellow is the color that represents joy which is one reason why it’s often used in wedding bouquets as well as being the color for celebrations like Easter or Passover; where the food is typically brightly colored to symbolize happiness.
Have you ever studied the lifecycle of a flower? In the beginning a seed is sown. The seed is buried in good soil, why because good soil is the foundation that will help it grow in purpose!
In Paul’s metaphor...
We are all, every one of us, farmers! We scatter spiritual seeds across the field of life. Seeds of Grace, Joy, Love, Anger, Hatred and Selfishness. As sure as the sun rises, these seeds will bear fruit at harvest time. What fruit they produce is determined by the kind of seeds they are…
Seeds symbolize Potential, Trust, Hope, Nourishment, Sacred Earthiness, Initiation, Reproduction cycle’s, Time, and Provision.
Let’s talk about the Benefits of sowing seeds for God.
Joy: sowing seeds for his kingdom, brings joy to both you, and to those who receive the harvest.
Peace: the act of faith shows a desire of peace and prosperity for others and brings peace to your own heart as you walk in God‘s path.
Contentment: acts of love bring contentment into your life.
The Seed is the word of God, and the ground is our hearts. Our hearts were created by God to bring forth fruit when his Word is planted in them. Just as a seed has to remain in the ground over time to germinate, so does the word of God has to abide in us.
Reading the word of God is imperative for our growth in him, and growing a relationship with him, planting it in our hearts. Why? because your heart is the core of your being, it’s the part that connects with God and other people, the heart is considered the source of life. (Proverbs 4:23)” Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it”.
Studying the life of a sunflower has opened my eyes on how we, (as seed carriers) should rely on our source to survive and produce for others.
Sunflowers look up to the sunlight. They track the sun from East to West, wherever the sun moves. When the sun goes down, they turn back East waiting for the Sun to arise again. Because of the sunflowers moving from East to West, their stem grows unevenly. One side elongates during the day and the other side during the night. This growth is driven by genes that respond to light and what they call, the plants “Circadian rhythm “. This daily ritual is vital to the plant’s survival. Once they’ve reached a mature stage, they settle down and just face East. The benefit of them facing Eastward towards the sun attracts about 5x’s more pollinators than flowers facing Westward. Warmer sunflowers are better at producing and releasing more pollen. Sunflowers increase exposure to sunlight makes their color and UV patterns more visible to insects, like bees.
After gaining this knowledge, I thought about us... (God’s children) When we’re first introduced to God’s Word we’re tested by the enemy (with Gods permission of course), of life’s distractions and challenges. Which often causes us to grow contrary and bent out of shape. We must fixate our eyes on what the Word says and apply it to our daily lives. (It’s like the flower that follows the light from east to west but grows uneven). But as we grow in experience of life’s lessons, we learn to stay focused on God’s Word staying Eastward. (Like the sunflower, we go to him FIRST each day. He enlightens us and fills us with his presence, wisdom and gifts to bless his people; sharing his faith and love to sustain us all!
The most amazing part that I discovered is that sunflowers have a disc of florets in the middle of its plant. This is where the seeds develop. God made this plant to have both male and female sex organs each to produce a seed. They can self- pollinate, or its pollen can be blown by the wind or transported by insects.
Meaning that, when this plant reaches its final stage of life, and the petals start to wilt; the seeds from the core fall to the ground onto good soil and a new life cycle begins! Isn’t this amazing!
I also discovered that sunflowers were planted across nuclear disaster sites because they absorb chemicals, toxins and radiation from the soil. They take in pollution through their deep roots and release it back into the air as clean oxygen.
What is this telling me, that if willing; God will use us to change the atmosphere. He will place us in situations to take in, stand for, advocate and show humility on his behalf, giving him glory and showing others how HIS WORD CHANGES ALL THINGS! God gives us the power within us to speak against ALL ODDS, in his son's name. That if we believe in him and show faith, he will walk us through the sea on dry land, just as he did for Moses and the Israelites crossing the Red Sea. Isn't this a refreshing word? I pray that this reading brings a new perspective on all things God has created. We have a Good, Good Father! And he has created all things on Purpose, Amen!