THE ORCHID MY TEACHER

The natural world has many lessons to teach us about God and His ways. A new hobby, reviving dying orchids, is a powerful illustration of God’s dealings with us.

I call my orchids “resurrection” plants because, given the correct treatment, they can live again, no matter how dead they may look. In my ignorance, I allowed numerous orchids to die, not realising what potential they had to recover, had I just taken the time to consult the experts.

After losing more than one beautiful plant, exasperation drove me to seek help from video clips on orchid care which I found on YouTube. To my amazement, even the deadest plants, with no roots and poor-quality leaves (or even no leaves at all), came back to life after cleaning, soaking and feeding them with natural fertilisers made from common vegetables and fruit found in any kitchen.

My first attempt at rescue was a beautiful, soft lilac Phalaenopsis (aka “moth”) orchid with dying, rotting roots, and leathery, withered leaves. I had not repotted it in time to set it on course for a healthy life. I didn’t want to lose it so, after trimming off all the roots, I was left with a sad looking, rootless plant with an intact growth “hub”, I call it, underneath the leaves.

I did what the video clip demonstrated and, after a few weeks, I was rewarded with two small fresh roots peeping out from the base of the leaves. Soon afterwards, new leaves appeared and, eventually, to my delight, a flower stem pushed its way upwards, bearing some fourteen glorious lilac blooms which lasted for five months.

I was so elated with my success that I classified myself as orchid ICU! Friends brought tired orchids to me which recovered and went home after a few months.

A visit to a friend in a frail care facility yielded another victim of its owner’s ignorance. I pleaded to take the orchid home for some ICU treatment. No one took ownership, so I claimed the poor, derelict plant and began its recovery programme. Its roots were bone dry; two leaves were on their way out and the third leaf was a yellow goner.

My first task was to trim and soak the roots in a weak solution of milk and rainwater – always, only rainwater. I planted what was left of the roots in a container with pine bark and granite chips and surrounded the leaf base with moss.

For several weeks, I lovingly sprayed the moss to keep it damp and lo! new roots began to appear. Then I tried a daring experiment. I took the plant out of its growing medium, washed off the roots and suspended them in a cut-off 2lt Coke bottle in plain water.

Well, does my rescue orchid love that!   It’s making its second new leaf and the new roots have almost reached the water. After that successful trial, I now have three orchid plants growing in water, and plan to put my lilac one into water as soon as its blooms have faded.

What have I learned from this miracle of resurrection? God is the God of life, not death. Death is a part of this fallen world that Jesus overcame by His own death and resurrection. Just as the orchid, the queen of beautiful flowers, has stubborn life built into it, so every human being has the potential to live again.

All people have been born spiritually dead in sin.

Psalms 51:5 NLT
[5] “For I was born a sinner— yes, from the moment my mother conceived me.”

Ephesians 2:1 NLT
[1] “Once you were dead because of your disobedience and your many sins.”

How can we recover from our dead condition? Just as I, the “orchid doctor”, remove the plant from its grave, trim and wash the dead roots, and replace it in a growing medium that provides the environment in which it can flourish, so God rescues dead people from their grave of sin and death.

Ephesians 2:4-6 NLT
[4]”But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, [5] that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!) [6] For he raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus.”

He trimmed off the roots sunk deep into sin, washed us clean in the blood of Jesus, and transferred us from the dominion of darkness to the kingdom of light.

Colossians 1:13-14 NLT
[13]”For he has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of his dear Son, [14] who purchased our freedom and forgave our sins.”

Every human being is destined to live again after the death. It all depends on whether we have been rescued from the garbage dump of eternal separation from God and brought back to life by His grace or whether we go to the grave withered and rootless, to live in utter darkness for all eternity.

Every “dead” orchid can live again. It will respond to its own inbuilt power to revive if it is given the opportunity. Every spiritually dead person can live again. The potential to live again, forever, is in every one of us.

God will never force His life into us. Like the orchid which responds to its life-giving, new environment, we choose to respond to that amazing gift of life by surrendering our lives to Jesus.

Orchids thrive on light, moisture, and nutrients by sending out new roots. The root system is essential for a healthy, blooming plant. So, too, we must grow a healthy root system by responding to the light and nutrients found in God’s Word.

Psalms 119:105 NLT
[105] “Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path.”

John 8:12 NLT
[12] Jesus spoke to the people once more and said, “I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.”

John 6:35 NLT
[35]”Jesus replied, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again. Whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.”

When we feed on Jesus by soaking ourselves in His life, His Word, and what He has done for us, we grow strong roots that keep us secure and steadfast in our faith in Him.

Colossians 2:7 NLT
[7]”Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness.”

If you want to be a part of God’s, eternal kingdom, be an “orchid” in His garden. He has put the potential in you to experience eternal life through our Lord Jesus Christ. By faith in Him, you can be joined forever to that life that He gives to everyone who believes in Him.

John 3:16 NLT
[16]  “For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.”

Romans 10:9 NLT
[9]”If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”