Whatever beauty exists in this physical world, Jesus Christ possesses all of it in the spiritual world—tenfold! Among all flowers, the rose is considered the most exquisite. But Jesus? He is infinitely more beautiful in the garden of the soul than any rose could ever be in the gardens of earth. He takes first place as the fairest of ten thousand. He is the sun, and all others are merely stars. The heavens and the daylight itself grow dark compared to him, for the King in his beauty transcends all.

"I am the rose of Sharon." Now, this was the finest, rarest of all roses. Jesus is not just "a rose." He is "the rose of Sharon." Just as he calls his righteousness not merely "gold," but "the gold of Ophir"—the best of the best. He is absolutely lovely, and beyond that, he is supremely the loveliest.

And there is such variety in his beauty! A rose delights the eye. Its fragrance refreshes and restores. In the same way, every sense of the soul finds its perfect satisfaction in Jesus. Whether it's spiritual taste or touch, hearing or sight, even the soul's sense of smell—each one finds exactly what it craves in him.

Even the memory of his love carries sweetness. Take that rose of Sharon and pull it apart, petal by petal. Store those petals in the jar of memory, and you will find each one still fragrant years later, filling the whole house with perfume. Christ satisfies the most refined taste of the most cultivated spirit, and satisfies it completely. The world's greatest expert in fragrances is perfectly content with the rose. And when a soul reaches the highest level of spiritual taste, she will still be content with Christ. No—she will be even more able to appreciate him.

Heaven itself has nothing that surpasses the rose of Sharon. What image could possibly capture his beauty? Human language fails. Earthly comparisons fall short. All of earth's choicest beauties commingled, they feebly picture his overflowing worth.

Blessed rose, bloom in my heart forever!