So today I was hanging outside in my hammock just thinking about God, and I got this great image. I saw this great, big tree and thought of how each and every one of us, when began our journey with God, were just a little twig on that tree. We couldn't really support anything, and every little breeze would make us sway. We were susceptible to fracture and from being separated from the tree, which stands for community. The community is what holds a new Christian up.
The thing is that it isn't feasible to remain a twig for very long. One day some little kid is going to come snap you off and use you as a sword. As a twig, you are vulnerable and susceptible to being broken off by any number of tragedies or difficulties in life. We must grow into something greater. We must grow into a thicker, stronger branch. Community isn't enough to do that. In order to move from a twig to a branch, we must feed on the Word, the Holy Scriptures. That is what gives us the nutrients to grow. Community can support you for a period of time, but it can't grow you, at least not on its own. The thing is, branches are still not very secure. Even the thickest are vulnerable to fracture. High winds can still snap you right off the tree. If a twig is a newborn believer, a branch is an adolescent. Branches still sway in the wind and are still fragile.
We must grow from a branch into the trunk. Now you are no longer being supported by the branches or the trunk, but you are the trunk. You are giving birth to new Christians and being their base and their support, for what good is a truck with no branches and a branch with no twigs? Ultimately though, the nutrients come from above and below, from the sunlight and the ground. None of it can be sustained without God. God is the earth and the sun. Surely even the mightiest trees fall. We are never free from being broken down. We are never free from attack. To think that nothing will ever shake you is arrogant and prideful. Even the mightiest fall (think of David for instance). That's why we must dig our roots deep into God. Even if somebody chops down the tree, the roots remain. Surely it hurts, but the earth and the sun aren't going anywhere. God is not going anywhere.
"My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever." ~Psalm 73:26
"But I am like an olive tree flourishing in the house of God; I trust in God's unfailing love for ever and ever. For what you have done I will always praise you in the presence of your faithful people. And I will hope in you name, for your name is good." ~Psalm 52:8-9
"So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in Him, rooted and built up in Him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness." ~ Colossians 2:6-7
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