Winter 1993

The Yellow Rose
Joanne Picataggi
Pinecrest Staff

"The Kingdom of Heaven is like unto a certain king,
which made a marriage for his son, and sent forth
his servants to call them that were bidden to the
wedding, and they would not come. Again, he sent
forth servants saying ... all things are ready:
come unto the marriage.

But they made light of it, and went their ways, one
to his farm, another to his merchandise ... Then
saith he to his servants, The wedding is ready,
but they which were bidden were not worthy.

Go ye therefore into the highways, and as many
as ye shall find, bid to the marriage ... And
when the king came in to see the guests, he saw
there a man which had not on a wedding garment:
And he saith unto him, Friend, how camest thou in
hither not having a wedding garment? And he was
speechless. Then said the king to the servants,
Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and
cast him into outer darkness; there shall be
weeping and gnashing of teeth.

For many are called, but few are chosen"
Matt 22:2-14.

I recently thought I would like to do something special for the Lord to let Him know I loved Him. Since I had heard that a yellow rose was a symbol of loyalty to the long-awaited arrival of a loved one. I decided to put a yellow rose on the pulpit in the Chapel. I thought, no one will know and I will surprise the Lord. Of course, it dawned on me that I could not surprise Him, for good or bad, nothing misses His attention. But, I decided to do it anyway.

I bought one yellow rose, and when no one was there, I brought it to the Chapel and laid it there just to let the Lord know what He meant to me. It remained there during the week of special prayer services. Toward the end of the week it began to wilt. Again, when there was no one was in the Chapel, I tenderly picked it up and took it home to dry and save it.

Within a few days, a knock came to the door. There stood a lady with a bouquet of carnations, and tucked in the center was one yellow rose. She said, "The Lord told me to bring you a rose. I looked at the red roses, but the Lord said, 'No, give her a yellow rose and tell her I love her.'" I thought, O Lord, You really Do see, You really do know. You really do appreciate when we return Your love.

Since then, periodically, just one at a time, yellow roses are sent to me. They are a reminder that love responds to love, and the Lord is looking for those who will respond to His love towards them.

In the passage above are two groups. The many who are called, and the few who came. This call is to come to the marriage, for the Lord is ready and waiting for us. "Many are called but few will make themselves ready so they can be chosen."

In Genesis, before man was created, the Lord was alone; but in the book of Revelation we see Him being married to a Bride who has made herself ready. This is the great and wonderful day He has been waiting for. We are preparing for our wedding day, our marriage to the Lord.

I have said to the Lord, I do not want to wait until the end of it all, and then become your Bride. Lord, let us enter into it now. If we are to worship in heaven, let us begin to worship Him now. If we are to minister to the Lord in the Kingdom, let us begin to minister to Him now. If we are to be married to the Lord, let us begin a personal relationship with Him now. We can be a "forerunner" in all these things.

The call went out from the heart of the King, "Come to the marriage." A great price had been paid for this marriage; the King's Son had laid down His life. The Word tells us we too are bought with a great price, with the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.

The King sent forth his servants to call them that were bidden; Again, there were two responses. There were those who made light of the invitation because of other interests, lambs and merchandise, and their good jobs. In the parable as given in Luke 14, one responds, "I have just been married, I have other relationships, other affections that have taken preeminence in my life."

The Lord desires to be our first choice, not our last resort. Once the Lord said within me, "I am painfully aware of where I stand in the lives of my people. I know whether I am first, or second, and I know when I am last.

The Lord will deliberately orchestrate circumstances in our lives to force us to make choices. We are living in the day of grace, and it is our privilege now to choose Him. If we are not motivated by the fire (His manifest presence)that He has placed within us, He will put one under us (His chastening).

The Lord said in Hosea 5:15b, "In their affliction, they will seek me early." If I am motivated by the fire within, He will not need to place problems in my path to turn me toward Himself.

The Lord is about to send a Word of fire that will ignite His people - a Word which will purify - a Word which will separate the chaff from the wheat. May it ignite our hearts, purify us, and burn up all the dross.

When the call came, they made light of it because they had other interests. Yet there are those who will respond to His call. We may enter now, we need not wait to enter a love relationship with our Lord. In our present circumstances, we may appropriate all the Lord has for us.

In salvation, Jesus gave all for us, In the Kingdom, we are to give all to Him. He desires nothing less that He gave. I will not settle for merely a part of my husband, I want all of him. This is what marriage is, and, the Kingdom is like unto a marriage. Some made light of it, but others responded. Imagine a Bridegroom being interested in a Bride who said, It will be enough if I come to be with you on Sunday morning, Sunday evening, and on Wednesday evening.

How will we respond when we are in the crucible, our place of choice? It has been said, "Character is the sum total of all our choices." Another said, "Character is what we choose when we are in pain." When Esau was hungry, he choose a present satisfaction, but under pressure, Jacob chose that which was of eternal value.

The Lord looks at our choices. He gave me a poem which expresses His heart's desire toward us.

For though you think I stand afar
I am so close to thee
I stand among the shadows
Waiting, and watching to see
If in all your many choices
The one you choose is me

He is right here, watching each move we make, and to give us the strength to make the right choice. "Many are called, but few will choose to come." Let each one of us determine to rightly respond to His call.

Some came who were not wearing wedding garments. These were bound and cast into "outer darkness." This is not just a location, but a position. They had chosen outer darkness in this life. The choices we make here have a direct bearing there.

We are now qualifying for our position in the Kingdom of Heaven. This is taking place in our lives on a daily basis. Sometimes we do not recognize the test when it comes, but He is watching every choice, that we choose Him. He must be first.

The Lord, our Heavenly Bridegroom, has given us all of His love. In return, He desires a personal love relationship with Him. We, not He, will determine the degree of intimacy we have with Him. The Lord has laid open His heart. It is open wide for all; but He has placed obstacles before it so only those who really desire Him will get through.

The call is to rise up and overcome. I once thought the call to rise up was "to float up." But that is not so. We must overcome before we will ever "rise up."

"The marriage of the Lamb is come, His wife hath made herself ready" Rev 19:7.She came with her wedding garment. "To her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen clean and white." The fine linen is the righteousness of the saints. She came adorned.

The Bridegroom is ready. The marriage supper is ready. He is waiting for our final preparations.

And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down
from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for
her husband" Rev 21:2.

"Come hither, I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb's
wife, and He carried me away in the spirit to a
great and high mountain, and showed me that great
city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven
from God, having the glory of God" Rev 21:9b-11a.

How will you respond to Him? He will see your yellow rose, and in turn, respond to you, that in that day, you will be able to sit with Him at the marriage supper of the Lamb.

"And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are
called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb" Rev 19:9a.