Tree Huggers!
By Susan Klein
“It is for freedom that Christ has set us free.”
Galatians 5:1
Late November in Wisconsin can be a pretty bleak time. All the beautiful fall foliage has left the trees, leaving the landscape wrapped in a shadow of gray. Decaying leaves and dormant grass are underfoot, and the skies typically don’t pour forth much sun. And THOSE WINDS!!! Those north winds can be biting!By Susan Klein
“It is for freedom that Christ has set us free.”
Galatians 5:1
Driving home the other morning, a peculiar sight caught my eye. Amidst the barren landscape along the highway, I saw one lone maple that absolutely refused to give up its leaves! It was completely covered in shriveled up little brown clumps. They appeared to be ready to drop, as had the other trees’ leaves, but the branches stubbornly held on tight. I wondered why this tree wouldn’t just let go! Would it have an adverse effect on its growing period in the spring if all the old leaves were still intact? Perhaps it just needed one more good wind gust to blow them to the ground.
Sometimes, I feel much like that tree. I have these old, crusty ideas or habits…even sins…that I just can’t let go of! I occasionally try half-heartedly to shake them loose, but they hang on for dear life! In reality, I’m not choosing to release them, allowing them to fall away as they should. They are of no value to me, but I can’t seem to let them go. Occasionally, God has to send a pretty strong wind to blow them off so my branches can be cleared, ready for the new fruit and foliage that He so wants to grow in me.
When Jesus died on the cross, His death was to set us free from bondage to our old and decaying sinful self. He set us free, so we could enjoy freedom, not stay in bondage to our old sin nature and wrong ideas. He desires for us to shake loose those dead leaves and be set free from their harm to our branches. As long as we hang on to them, He cannot replace them with new growth.
While we can’t do anything about the cold November winds, we can avoid a wind gust from our heavenly Father. Through the power of the Holy Spirit within us, let’s choose to drop those old leaves and experience true freedom!
GOING DEEPER:
1. What old or harmful habits might you be in need of letting go?
2. Ask God to show you any un-confessed sin you might be harboring so that your branches may be cleared, ready to be filled with His new growth!
FURTHER READING:
John 15:1-8
Susan is a wife and mother of two. She is the Coordinator of Oakwood’s Tuesday a.m. Bible Study and one of its teachers.
