Just a Tree?

I live in analogies and illustrations… so I may be a little out of touch with reality sometimes (ha), but there is something beautiful about looking at the world and seeing it with symbolic depth - take this little tree for example.


Recently, I have had a lot of friends who have come to the end of themselves. Who looked rock bottom in the face. Who have wrestled with life. So, when I was at the lake about a month ago, I was totally captured by this little tree living in the woods. There it was, basking in the sunlight, growing out of death.  A stump that was rotten and dead to the core was growing a sprout of hope and new life. And since I am no longer a young life leader, I cannot get up in front of a crowd of high schoolers and share my treasure. 




Therefore, I'm sharing it with you.  How inspiring, how refreshing and yet how humbling is this tree? Plain and simple, when I saw this little tree I saw a picture of the gospel. There I was dead, helpless, rotten to the core, and Jesus alone created new life in me. 
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------[2:1] And you were dead in the trespasses and sins [2] in which you once walked, following the course of this world... But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, [5] even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ. (Ephesians 2:1-5 ESV)           ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
So, I'm not exactly sure why I'm posting this picture. Really the point is, no matter where you are in your life. No matter how dead, worn out, helpless you feel - remember this is the power of Christ. To take death and turn it into life abundant. Happy Friday. (PS - The Giving Tree is the jam. Go watch it. Do it.)