John 12:20-21 – Now among those who went up to worship at the feast were some Greeks. So these came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and said to him, "Sir, we wish to see Jesus." (RSV)

John 18:7 – Again he asked them, "Whom do you seek?" And they said, "Jesus of Nazareth." (RSV)

On author Robin Lee Hatcher's Facebook page, she posted a photo that showed sunflowers that her husband had planted alongside their house. What grabbed my attention was that they grew almost to the eavestrough, but one yellow sunflower bent its leafy, green neck around the eaves and stretched beyond the roof line seeking the sun.

The first thing to enter my head was, "Would you look at the size of that sunflower! What amazing growth!" Then other words whispered in my soul: "I want you to seek the Son like the sunflower seeks the sun."

The sunflower grew feet above the eaves searching for sunshine. It stretched beyond normal height, going to extremes as it sought the sun. The sunflower's DNA directed it to bend around a growth-halting obstacle, the eaves. By way of comparison, in human spiritual growth, our fallen nature is our obstacle. We need the Son more than we realize, since our sinful DNA tends to seek the shadows where we will wither.

Like the sunflower's effort to reach the sun, our spiritual growth will require effort: rising a little earlier for worship, reaching out to a neighbour with help, or placing our Bible on the kitchen table beside our coffee cup to encourage us to read it. After all, we are not sunflowers, but fallen humans who need encouragement to seek the Son.

As the sunflower seeks sunshine, so we must seek the Son of God to overcome our obstacles. When we seek Jesus, we find ourselves stretched in the process. As we read the Scriptures, our perceptions shift so that we see things the way He does. As we serve others, our priorities change in the process of doing His work on earth. As we worship, we experience spiritual growth. These things require effort.

When we seek Jesus, the Son will shine upon us. As the sun shines upon sunflowers changing them from gangly, green stalks to beautiful, yellow flowers, so we will be changed through the process of seeking Jesus, the Son of God. As we stretch our focus toward the Son of God, like the sunflower grows toward the sun, we will grow spiritually.

Let's seek the Son like the sunflower seeks the sun.

Prayer: Lord God Almighty, shine upon us so that we may grow toward the Son through Your Holy Spirit living in us. Amen.

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About the author:

Cassandra Wessel <casswessel4319@gmail.com>
Tionesta, Pennsylvania, USA
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