The early-morning sun was just beginning to brighten the faces of the sunflowers as I settled into a chair on our deck, my journal in one hand and a freshly poured mug of coffee in the other. Numerous clusters of radiant yellow petals branched out from towering stalks all around me. For once, they had eluded the rabbits, squirrels and chipmunks.

A week ago, many of the young blossoms were reaching skyward to bask in the sun’s warm rays and to entice passing butterflies, bees and other pollinators —”Come! Stop by for a visit!” Now, their dark centers were heavy with seed, their faces bowed low. Nature’s interplay had accomplished its goal, and gravity was on full display.

I am something of a recovering gardener. Perhaps it is tenacity or short-term memory issues, but each spring I try again despite the failures of the previous year. Insects. Disease. Chipmunks. Too much rain. Too little rain. This coalition of adversaries conspires each year to ensure my gardening attempts fall short. Yet, the call of the soil drowns the voice of reason and overwhelms my resistance. Inevitably, I find myself returning from the garden center with too many seedlings or seed packets or fertilizers or sprays … excessive for my small garden, but that has never stopped me.

This year, I wanted to include sunflowers. Again. These supposedly “easy-to-grow” plants have somehow not been so easy for me. Despite past attempts to grow a variety of these “rays of happiness,” they never made it in my garden. But this season, I was determined. Rather than sowing seeds directly into the soil outside, I would start them indoors. Grow light, check. Heat mat, check. Mini-greenhouse, check.

That was months ago, and today, as I admired the beauty of these now-mature plants, an exquisite golden finch landed on one of the flowers and began to tear at the blossom, shredding the head and dislodging the seed. In under a minute, the plant, which had received so much of my attention and care, lay on the ground in pieces; its beauty and life surrendered to sustain another. And in that moment, a life lesson was imparted to me by my feathered, 5-inch tutor.

Perhaps the splendor of the sunflower is not so much found in the radiance of its blossom but in the life it imparts. The young blossom, ablaze in color, first nourished the butterfly and bee. The faded bloom, with its head tilted earthward — perhaps in anticipation of its destiny — now surrenders its life to birds of the air and critters on the ground. And the seeds that remain will renew the cycle in the next season. In the Gospel of John, Jesus drew from a seed metaphor to illustrate the purpose of His own life and the necessity of His death: “Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds (John 12:24).” And He fleshed this out further when He declared, “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends (John 15:13).”

Jesus modeled a life that was wholly focused on the heart and will of His Heavenly Father and surrendered “even unto death” for the needs of the world. His very life was poured out — expended — to provide a “ransom for many.” And He calls us to walk in His footsteps.

Who are you living for, and to what is the energy of your life directed? Are you “spending your life” to adorn yourself with titles and worldly acquisitions — to solely meet the desires and passions you carry within your own soul? Or, as Jesus, our living model, are you offering your life as a “living sacrifice” (Romans 12:1) unto the God who created you?

This is a contributed opinion column. Rev. Rick Sergi served for 10 years as senior pastor at Emmanuel E.C. Church, Bethlehem. He is now a district field director for the Evangelical Congregational Church, overseeing 13 EC churches in the Lehigh Valley area. Rick and his wife Joan are long-time residents of the Lehigh Valley. The views expressed in this piece are those of its individual author and should not be interpreted as reflecting the views of this publication.

https://www.mcall.com/2025/08/30/faith-values-flower-offers-a-lesson-in-living-sacrifice-for-others/