October 3, 2008
Fall
Here
in New Mexico, we have officially entered the fall season. The trees are turning
(meaning the leaves are turning colors and falling from the trees.)
I
see a wonderful parallel between the leaves and the Christian faith walk.
We
are new creations once we come to Jesus.
2
Corinthians 5:17-18 NIV
Therefore,
if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has
come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave
us the ministry of reconciliation:
As
new believers we are left with the old dead leaves of our sin and our past
hanging on us. As we continue to draw closer to God and grow in maturity as
Christians, He reveals the things that need changing and with new growth in
those areas He pushes the old dead leaves off.
The
problem is that as Christians we often want to do God's work for Him. We start
trying to pull the old dead stuff off under our own power instead of allowing
Him to work.
We
forget that He has a master plan. He knows the order that He has decided for us
to be grown in. Sometimes there are parts of our lives that must be transformed/
healed /corrected before we can grow in other areas. When we try to circumvent
God's plan by picking what we want to change, we get frustrated. Our efforts
often fail because the new growth is not ready to push the old away yet in that
area.
Sometimes
God pushes large clumps of our dead leaves off at once. Sometimes it is a leaf
here and a leaf there. We need to learn to trust what He is doing in our lives.
Our
part is to draw close to Him. We need to start to walk in obedience to what He
has shown us, to praise, pray and study His truth. Then we get out of the way
and let Him work on our lives. When the time is right He will show us what and
how to change the things that He has prepared for us.
Ephesians
2:10 NIV
For we are
God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared
in advance for us to do.
No
two trees lose their leaves in exactly the same way. Why would we think that any
two Christians would be transformed in exactly the same manner? He has created
each of us individually, has a personalized plan for our lives and draws each of
us from a different place.
Instead
of comparing ourselves to someone else and plucking our leaves like theirs, we
should trust God and let Him work in us according to His perfect plan.
Philippians
1:6 NIV
being
confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to
completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
Trees
do not mature overnight. It takes many seasons for a sapling to become a mighty,
powerful oak. God is transforming you into an oak of righteousness. That takes
time.
Isaiah
61:1-3 NIV
The Spirit
of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach good
news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim
freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to
proclaim the year of the LORD's favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to
comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion-- to bestow on
them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of
mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be
called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of his
splendor.
Until
next time, rejoice in your uniqueness and let God work the works only He can do!
May
God’s continued work be manifest in you!
Darrel
Mason