The Rose: A Living Parable of Jesus’ Teaching
I had a dream. In the dream, I found myself speaking with others, and the question rose within me after seeing a rose plant: “What has the rose plant to do with the teachings of Jesus?”
As I pondered, I began to see the rose not just as a flower but as a living parable. Look closely at the rose, and you will notice its beauty and its thorns. Is that not the picture of the Christian life? Jesus said, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow Me.” (Luke 9:23). Just as the rose cannot be separated from its thorns, following Christ cannot be separated from trials. Yet, the thorns only make the beauty of the blossom more precious.
The rose also speaks of sacrifice. For a rose to release its fragrance, it must be touched, even crushed. So it was with our Lord—His love was most fully revealed through His suffering on the cross. And Paul reminds us that we too carry that fragrance: “For we are to God the fragrance of Christ” (2 Corinthians 2:15).
Then, I understood pruning. A rose plant must be pruned to flourish. The Gardener cuts away the old so that new life can come forth. Jesus Himself said, “Every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit” (John 15:2). In the same way, God lovingly prunes our lives—removing what hinders, so His beauty can shine in us.
In the dream, the rose became a teacher. Its thorns spoke of endurance, its fragrance of love, its pruning of discipline, and its blossom of glory. Through it, I saw that the rose plant is not far from the teachings of Jesus at all. It is a quiet witness, pointing us back to the One who brings beauty out of suffering, life out of death, and glory out of surrender.