For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do (Ephesians 2:10 NIV).

If a vote were taken by property owners as to which weed they disliked the most, dandelions would probably win. Self-propagating, these plain flowers are perhaps the most prolific of any. Work all summer uprooting them; and for sure, the one you missed will re-sow your front lawn for next year. They grow everywhere, regardless of good or bad soil.

But look at that little flower. Cheerful yellow, these flowers brightly decorate the front yard of a house near mine where no one has lived for several years. And they decorate my front and back yards, too.

Euell Gibbons, well-known authority on wild plants (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euell_Gibbons), wrote concerning the dandelion:

It is an excellent source of calcium and potassium, and the best known source of vitamin A among the green vegetables, the favorite green of thousands of country people who avidly eat them every spring ("Stalking the Healthful Herbs").

Jethro Kloss, herbalist, stated that the roots are a "splendid remedy" for numerous physical ailments, including diabetes, eczema, anemia, kidney trouble, and fever.

Some of the sweetest Christians I have known would not qualify as handsome or pretty by the world's standard. Yet when they smile, the light of Jesus glows out from them.

God desires to make us all dandelion Christians!
Christians like these are self-propagating, that is, they can work alone, if necessary, to increase their species — even as Mary Slessor (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Slessor), the missionary to the cannibals, did. But of course they have their Lord helping them.

Such Christians are prolifically fruitful, sowing the seed of the gospel in many places and many ways. As they water and nourish it with love, prayers, and tears, it springs up to produce more golden lights for Christ.

Paul uses a botanical metaphor to reveal how these kinds of Christians become so fruitful. They are "rooted and built up in him [Christ Jesus], strengthened in the faith, and overflowing with thankfulness" (Colossians 2:7 NIV). Because their roots are buried deeply in their Lord, they also often bring His physical, emotional, and spiritual healing to those to whom they minister.

We find these Christians in all kinds of environments; some are poor, some well-to-do. Some have little education, some are college graduates. But humble as the dandelion (and their Master), their golden beauty lifts the hearts of people everywhere.

Our Lord is "no respecter of persons." He desires to make every one of His beloved children a dandelion kind of Christian. We need to sink our roots deeply into him, and He will do the rest.