I love my mini rose bushes, but one of them went wild this year. It had grown several tall shoots but had no blossoms – didn’t even look like my bush except for the thorns. It seems there are several reasons why they go wild – temperatures, water, insects, disease; not sure there is any hope it will ever come back.

Once in awhile we hear of someone who had been “sold out for the Lord, but for whatever reason they lost that first love and have become like my wild rose bush. They no longer “look the same” but are conforming to the world and all it has to offer them. But unlike my rose bush, there is always hope because God is a God of love and compassion and He is always ready to forgive and to restore.

Maybe you are that “wild rose bush” today. Note what Jesus’ message was to the church in Ephesus found in Revelation 2:4,5: “Nevertheless I have somewhat against you, because you have left your first love. Remember therefore from where you are fallen, and repent….” It takes one step to go in the right direction.

God’s arms are always open.