The Roses

This is a story that I've heard several times. I don't know the source of it, but it's an excellent illustration.

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There was a Sunday school teacher who wanted to impress upon her students the importance of giving their youth and prime to the Lord.
One day she was sitting in her car with the window rolled down and some of the girls walked past talking with each other. She overheard one girl saying that she wanted to enjoy her life first, and then when she got older she would serve the Lord. The teacher had a bright idea and sent that girl a package in the mail.

When the girl opened it, she found to her dismay that it contained a great bouquet of roses, but unfortunately they were all wilted, limp, and dying. They had a fragrance, but it wasn’t the fragrance of roses. She figured that there must have been some mistake.

The next week her teacher asked her, “so did you get something in the mail?”
“Yes,” she replied, “it had a great bouquet of roses in it, but unfortunately they were all wilted and old.”
“I sent those roses to you,” the teacher said. “I bought them early last week and enjoyed them all week. They were so fresh and beautiful, full of fragrance and delicacy. But towards the end of the week, they began to wilt and spoil, and when I saw them I thought of you and decided I’d send them to you for you to enjoy.” Then she leaned forward and said quietly, “You see, that’s what you’re doing with the Lord. You want to enjoy the beauty and prime of your life and then you plan on giving the leftovers to the Lord. Do you think that’s what He wants? Your fading years, or your prime? Is that all He’s worthy of?”

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