Magnolia Blossoms

We have a Southern Magnolia in our yard. When it was planted about 10 years ago, it was no taller than 3 feet. As you can see it must be 25 feet in height today. It was a mother’s day gift to my wife. She wanted one dearly.

Although the tree can be messy, dropping big, leather-like leaves and seed-pods, its blossoms are very beautiful and fragrant. The blossoms have several stages:
Buds, blossoms and seed pods.

Look at the images. Each stage is unique and beautiful in its own right.

But why should I think the blossoms to be beautiful? What makes a thing beautiful?

It seems everything should be beautiful. Everything created by God is “good” (Genesis ). Confucius recognized this too when he said, “Everything has its beauty, but not everyone sees it.”

Kahilil Gibran said it this way, “When you reach the heart of life you shall find beauty in all things, even in the eyes that are blind to beauty.”

It seems to me there are 2 basic notions relative to the concept of “beauty,” each with a different shade of meaning. In one sense beauty refers to something’s appearance, its color, texture, symmetry and fragrance. It is used to suggest elegance, something that is fine, like art. It is the kind of beauty we often try to quantify. We develop criteria for it.











Another sense of the word focuses on the “good” of something, recognizing that something is beautiful when it performs well. In this sense, beauty is like a well designed machine, moving silently and effortlessly to accomplish a task deemed worthwhile.

It seems we often use the word in an interchangeable way, sometimes as if referring to art and sometimes in the sense of its performance. Both uses of "beauty" are a bit subjective, or as Margaret Hungerford has said, “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.” So let me summarize here by quoting Jean Anouilh. She said, “Things are beautiful if you love them.”

Now to the heart of the matter. Scripture says, “How beautiful is the coming of messengers who bring good news.” The people we love are like that. We love them for who they are. And the lesson for us is (if we flip that statement around a bit) “Let the beauty you love be what you do” (Jalal ad Din Rumi).

So, why should I think magnolia blossoms are beautiful? Because my wife loves this tree. Because God made this tree to grow, blossom and to be fruitful. It grows in the south and enriches our lives and the lives of others, setting one wonderful region of America off from other wonderful regions, and to make one region distinct from other regions. It is beautiful because of what it does and what it is.

This week my wife and I celebrate 40 years of marriage. She is a woman of great beauty.

Scripture:
Genesis 1.31 – God was pleased with His creation.
Genesis 2.9 – God made all kinds of beautiful trees.
Genesis 29.17 – Rachel was shapely and beautiful.
Psalm 96.6 – Power and beauty fill His Temple.
Zechariah 9.17 – How beautiful is the land.
Romans 10.15 – How beautiful is the coming of messengers who bring good news.