The Passion Flower...

For years I was hesitant to say the name, Passion Flower. I didn't hesitate because of disbelief that that was it's name, but because I just assumed that it was used to create aphrodisiacs.

When you are reared by a Baptist preacher (like I was,) SEX is not a subject you discuss in public. Though Dad & I disagreed in many ways as most teenagers & the fathers seem to disagree, the truth of the message he preached was not one of those areas.

I accepted Jesus Christ as my personal Saviour & LORD at age six. I had read the Bible completely...from kivver to kivver around age 19. I graduated from a Baptist university in Chattanooga, TN., and married a Christian lady from a Christian family.

The last two paragraphs was not intended to brag on Stan, but to say unequivocally that I believed the message my Dad preached & the message he really lived...I might add.

Like many teenagers, I was as "wonderfully devious" as I needed to be. Dad was allowed to see only what Dad wanted to see about #1 son (i.e. ME.)

Therefore, we no talka da SEX...never, no, never, never, never! However, Participate a little... around the edges? Could be...but...still I arrived at the marriage altar...technically...a virgin.

Imagine my surprise when I discovered that Passion Flowers had nothing whatsoever to do with SEX.

It wasn't until years after becoming a Christian that I learned that the entire time period from the Last Supper through Jesus' death on Mount Calvary is considered the Passion of the Christ (hence Mel Gibson's movie.)

The Passion Flower is God's visual testimony to the world each & every day of the inestimable price Jesus paid for my sins (including the deceit & extracurricular of my youth) as well as the sins of every living soul throughout HIStory.

The purple petals of the flower depict Jesus' Royal Divinity and the circle of stamen remind us of His Crown of Thorns (symbolic of His painful penalty paid as Substitute for fallen humanity.

Finally, you will notice that the crown is relatively small in the middle of huge purple petals. This reminds us the death and with it sin's penalty was totally swallowed up (i.e. enveloped) in Jesus' total victory.

Since my life belongs to Jesus & it is now His property (no one can destroy my life until He lets them,) what is there to worry about?

I WILL live passionately! Jesus gives me the power to do so!

Thank You, LORD! :)

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Update on April 26, 2007:

Well, my Friends, I stand corrected.

I showed my page to my wife when she got home from work last evening. She responded with one word, Clematis!

I instantly knew that she was right! I, also, knew why I had made the mistake as to scientific classification.

First, both the clematis & the passion flower have the symbolic "Crown of Thorns" at the middle of the bloom. (Clematis=circle of stamen, Passion Flower=Red markings on very long stamen.)

Secondly, both have large strikingly beautiful petals IMHO.

Thirdly, Both blooms symbolize the whipping of Jesus. (Clematis=striations on the petals, Passion Flower=Long stamen look like the strands of a whip.)

If I haven't said it clearly before, then I will state it here. This is my "caveat emptor" ("Let the buyer beware!") to those who read my blog pages.

C.E.: I will be bold & clear about what I believe on my pages, but if you are brave & kind enough to comment on any of my photos or my beliefs, I WILL NOT GIVE YOU A PRIVATE MESSAGE TO TRY TO "CRAM MY BELIEFS DOWN YOUR THROAT!"

Neither will I GO TO YOUR BLOG PAGE & DO ANYTHING BUT COMPLIMENT YOUR PHOTOS. I am agree with your beliefs when we do agree, but I will never place a negative nor argumentative comment on your pages as to any subject where I do not hold your viewpoint.

To review...I will be silent or encouraging, never argumentative!

The Foundation of my Life: "Jesus is Always Right!" This is the guiding principle for everything I do, everything I think, everything I say!

I will never try to force anyone else to believe this, but that doesn't stop me from hoping that many people will choose to believe it because I have provoked them to thought!

All you need to know is that for me the thought "Jesus is Always Right!" is MY LIFE'S ANCHOR & the Lighthouse Whose light helps me to navigate my "ship of state" around the sharp rocks of uncertainty during each of the "dark nights of the soul."

During the days of peace & rest the thought becomes that clear daily star by which I may keep my bow pointed toward True North!

It is my steady belief that everyone needs a bedrock principle and a mentor to follow. Jesus is all that & more to me.

Whatever motivates your life is that which I pray may lead you to eternal health, happiness, and success.

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Clematis (Viticella Group) 'Etoile Violette' (F.Morel 1885) [The flowers on this page...]
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The real Passion Flower:

Fruit - Fleshy, ovoid to globose, green at first, yellowish-red at maturity.

Flowering - June - September.

Habitat - Thickets, disturbed sites, waste ground, roadsides, railroads. Also cultivated.

Origin - Native to U.S.

Other info. - This plant and its relatives have an edible fruit often seen in drinks as "Passion fruit". Some folks like it, some don't. In his particular species the mucilage around the seeds of the fruit is quite sweet and delicious.
The genus name comes from the story of Jesus in Christianity, the "Passion". The flower parts are telling of the story. The petals and sepals are representative of the disciples of Jesus, except for Judas and Peter. The stamens, numbering 5, represent the wounds of Jesus. The stigmas, because of their shape, represent the nails used in the crucifixion. The corona represents the crown of thorns.

(Info. on the two flowers has been brought to you by the fine folks at Wikipedia.)

The message is the same, and since I believe that Jesus has created everything in the universe, then it's no surprise that I believe that He would leave His signature & reminders of His greatest victory in many places throughout creation.