Noxious

One day last summer

while at a multi-family picnic,

my teen-aged daughters

ran playfully to the pavilion

where the adults were visiting

and presented me with a small bouquet

of wildflowers.

I received them with delight.

However,

a friend gently cautioned us

that we should be careful

about picking certain wildflowers.

He pointed out a few particular ones in the bunch

and informed us that they were noxious plants

and should not be handled.

I felt deceived

by a very real danger

in the embodiment of something so lovely.

I felt sad

as I placed the little gathering of blossoms

far away from the picnic tables

so that others would not see them

or touch them.

I felt hesitation

to trust in my own naivety,

for such grave possibility

now loomed as a dark cloud

hovering over what once was

a simple delight.

I felt motivated

to learn more about

how to discern between

harmless plants

and those which are unsafe,

recognizing the value of prevention.

Noxious

Harmful, Toxic, Poisonous,

Deadly, Lethal, Venomous,

Injurious, Deleterious

Obnoxious

Loathsome, Hateful, Horrible,

Insufferable, Intolerable, Detestable,

Unbearable, Abhorrent, Abominable,

Despicable, Repugnant, Repellent

The two words are nearly the same,

yet one is purely scientific

while the other is entirely relational.

The two words are nearly the same,

yet God has chosen

to provide the opportunity

   for redemption,

      for purification,

         for regeneration

to one...

the relational one...

me.

"For God did not send His Son into the world

to condemn the world,

but in order that the world might be saved

through Him."

~John 3:17