Those who look to Him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame.
Psalm 34:5, NIV
Summer may bring the heat, but more importantly, summer brings great beauty to each and every state across the country. Perhaps the most regal, the most fabulous summer beauty of all is the sunflower. We can all agree that sunflowers are the symbol of summer. From the thick-podded center stacked full of seeds to the golden yellow layers of soft petals, there is just something about them that captures the epitome of summertime and remains the star of its beauty.
Sunflowers get their names not only from their sun-like shape, but they cannot bloom without the sun. In fact, the sunflower will only open its bloom as it faces the sun, taking in and soaking up every drop of the sunshine’s rays that it can. From then on, the sun becomes the source of the sunflower’s strength and its guide, thus transforming a bud into a beautiful, giant flower. The sun’s reflection plays off of the sunflower, and just like that, the sunflower radiates from the bottom of its stalk to the tips of its golden yellow petals- sensationally summer.
It is hard not to be reminded of Psalm 34:5 when thinking about a sunflower’s journey isn’t it? Just as the sunflower grows up thirsting, desiring, and desperately needing to be in the sunlight, so should we do the same with Christ. To be with Christ means to spend time with Him, including Him into our everyday life. We experience His presence through prayer, worship, and reading God’s word-scripture. This is our greatest source of strength. Just as being in the presence of the sun strengthens the sunflower, we too are strengthened from being in the presence of our Savior. Like the sunflower, when we lift focus to being in His presence, our identity is found. There He transforms us from bud to glorious, blooming flowers- followers of Christ. All of us become all of whom He is, our “faces never covered with shame” but only strength, pure joy, and life itself. We become “radiant” in His presence. May we be a people like the sunflowers as we turn our face towards Christ... finding our strength in His presence and being daily transformed to radiate the goodness of Christ.
Written by Caroline Brittingham
