Every Man Has A Rose Within

A man planted a rose and watered it faithfully and before it blossomed, he examined it.

He saw the bud that would soon blossom, but noticed thorns upon the stem and he thought, "How can any beautiful flower come from a plant burdened with so many sharp thorns? Saddened by this thought, he neglected to water the rose, and just before it was ready to bloom, it died.

Lessons

• Within every soul, there is a rose. The God-like qualities planted in us at birth, grow amid the thorns of our sins. Many of us look at ourselves and see only the thorns, the defects.
  
• We despair, thinking that nothing good can possibly come from us. We neglect to water the good within us, and eventually it dies. We never realize our potential.
• Some of us do not see the rose within ourselves; someone else must show it to us. One of the greatest gifts a person can possess is to be able to reach past the thorns of another, and find the rose within them.
  
• One of the characteristic of love is to look at a person, know their true faults and accepting that person into your life, all the while recognizing the nobility in their soul.
  
• Help others to realize they can overcome their sins. If we show them the "rose" within themselves, they will conquer their thorns. Only then will they blossom many times over.
  
• The virtue of life is to remember that everyone is created in the image of God and we are to love them just as we are commanded to love our neighbors as ourselves. Note: a strong reminder to myself.