Jasmine

Before we moved to California jasmine was just a word to me. I knew it was some kind of very fragrant flower and I'd even drunk jasmine tea. But I didn't really know jasmine.

Now, however, I KNOW jasmine. Starting sometime in March the climbing jasmine was blooming all over the neighborhood and even just driving by in a car with the windows open the fragrance was overpowering. For a couple of weeks now the star jasmine, a groundcover type jasmine, has been in full bloom and once again it's like walking through a jasmine cloud. There's really no way to describe it but once you have the experience of it, the word "jasmine" conjures up a whole lot more than just a vague definition.

I was thinking that the same is true for other things, like hope. And redemption. We can use the words and have a vague idea of what they mean. But until we have been born into the kingdom and actually experience true hope and real redemption from our lostness, well, they are just words and ideas to us. But having experienced real hope, there's no going back. Once we're bought, the "freedom" of lostness has no appeal. We may not be able to describe it to someone else - we can only encourage them to taste it for themselves. "Taste and see that the Lord is good."