At a certain point in middle Spring in the rolling hills of Virginia the buttercups start to bloom. If the grass is cut, they return quickly after just a few days and bloom again. If the parent plants are prevalent in a field, they will give the field a golden glow for a couple weeks. If you look close, the little flower has a waxy bright yellow appearance. As fast as the they come in Spring, they go even faster.
One of the wonders of God’s created vegetation is the flower. Most flowers by design have a short life cycle. They arrive quickly and fall quickly. While they bloom, they are exquisitely beautiful and often fragrant. They can stand heavy rains and wind. But when their time is up, they fall quickly as if they had never been there.
Their brevity was not just a design intention by God, it is a constant reminder that we are frail and soon blow away. James 1:9-10 mention the flower as a direct lesson about rich people: they do not last long and they fade away. These themes are repeated in several scriptures but the lesson is often ignored or forgotten. So every Spring the buttercups remind me: serve the Lord while I have life, because whatever riches I have are temporary and will fade way quickly like I will fade away.
