"The Butterfly Bush"

I just thought that I would share today's devotion with you. It's called the Butterfly Bush from the Baptist Bread.

"And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me." John 12:32

Back in the summer of 2007 I was preaching in Pennsylvania and I was staying in the home of the pastor. His sons had built a beautiful fenced in atio for their mother and it was festooned with lovely and fragrant flowers. One plant caught my attention and it's "attendants" brought about my query as to the nature aof the flowering bush. This particular plant was blessed with an abundance of blooms and comvered with the bouyant flittering about of the majestic butterflies. I asked the preacher and his wife what kind of plant it was that attracted the colorful congregation and they replied, "It's the butterfly bush." Made sense to me!
Just think, God created a bush that attracted butterflies of various kinds and colors, and they flocked to its fragrant flora. He also created a tree that was made into a cross upon which Jesus Christ was crucified. The lifting up of the Savior on the rugged tree of Calvary has become a wondrous attraction to sinners down through the centuries. Since Christ was lifted up from the earth, His drawing power has been resplendent in the lives of those who listened and recieved the gift of salvation. Verse 33 ("This he said, signifying what death he should die."), tells us that Christ was speaking of HIs crucifixion, as the ultimate drawing power in the conversion of a soul. To think that He would joyfully (Heb. 12:2) give His life for us should be all the reason one needs to come to Him.