Dogwood Flowers For Christmas: A Symbol of the Cross

Each Easter, I paint the dogwood’s delicate blooms—symbols of the cross and of the love that conquered it. This year, I felt drawn to bring those blossoms into Christmas, weaving together the wonder of His birth with the purpose of His sacrifice.

The dogwood flower is said to symbolize the cross of Christ.

When I look at the dogwood, I see the whole story of redemption — from Bethlehem to Calvary. The One who lay in a wooden manger would one day hang upon a wooden cross and one day He will return in glory!

I was listening to "Things Unseen" by Sinclair Ferguson he said

".. our spiritual forefathers knew that the incarnation actually intersects history, but it looks beyond the moment of the incarnation towards the end of history. The birth of Jesus is the beginning of something new. It’s not its consummation—that’s still to come. The humbling of the Son of God led to His humiliation on the cross, but it was the prelude to His exaltation and glorification, and then, ultimately, His return. Think of it this way: at Christmastime, we’re reminded of a very small number of Jewish people who came to worship Jesus—people like the aged Simeon; and a few of them marginalized, the shepherds; and a handful of Gentile scholars from the East who came to kneel before Him. But the Scriptures teach us these were merely the firstfruits, the tiny shoots pressing through the soil of history as an indication of what one day will take place in the final harvest, when all the nations will see the glory of the Lord Jesus when He comes again and ushers in the final stage of His kingdom."

May these dogwoods remind us of the full story of Christ. This Christmas, may we not only rejoice in His birth, but also pause to remember His sacrifice and lift our hearts in hope for His coming again.