Message in the tree
The other day I was outside with my son, and I noticed some dead branches on our tree in the back yard. I decided like any problem fixer that I was going to pull down the dead branches. As I reached up to one of the branches that was low enough for me I realized that it was amazingly easy to break off. Just then the Lord spoke to me in the tree branches. He told me that just as I felt the necessity to pull of the dead branches on that tree there are dead parts in all of our lives that need to come down if we are to continue to grow and be healthy.
The way that I recognized the dead tree limbs was because they weren't growing anything. They were bare. Some of the more dangerous branches were discolored and showed signs of being diseased. What part of our lives is barren and possibly diseased? There is a beautiful parable that names those who are saved as the branches of a grape vine. It called for us to be pruned so that we can bare fruit. If we are to be fruitful in our lives we must open ourselves up to the cutting away of everything dead in our lives. We need to make room for more life. Some examples of these dead branches might be old relationships that just don't fit into who we are or a church that doesn't fit our needs that we attend for no other reason than to say that we went. Fortunately dead things tend to fall apart easily. Shearers will easily cut away dead branches. I was able to pull away many of the dead branches on my tree with just my hands.
The branches that were difficult for me to pull down were those being protected by the living branches. Living branches are difficult to pull down. As I tried to work my way to one of the dead branches through a live branch that was in my way it almost took me away! Living branches are resilient and do not easily break but bend under weight until it reaches a point where it will snap back into place. If you want to know the difference between what is alive and what is dead in your life think back in your life to the times where your life was pressured. What may have been pulled but came back, and what snapped and broke off? We also should consider whether or not the things that died need to be brought back to life. If so that is something that only God can do.
One other question that we can ask ourselves is what part of us is hanging on by a thread? There is a state of some branches where they are not lively but they are not dead. These branches are dying, and they require a judgement call. Should I pull or cut if off now or can I revitalize it? Sometimes trees only look dead when really they are just sick. There are areas of our lives that are like this too. Is your prayer life sick? Is your family satisfaction lacking? Is your self image distorted? These are some examples of sick branches that could be in our lives. These branches are warning signs that we need renewal and reflection.
The biblical parable of the vines and branches goes further to name the Lord as the vine dresser. We need the Lord's discernment to recognize what needs to be cut away and how to do that. I would even go as far to say that depending on our level of relationship with our vine dresser we may just open ourselves and tell our Lord, "cut where you will because I trust you." Once the things that are eye sores on our lives and dangers to our abundant life have been taken away we can better reflect that majesty of the Lord, and the areas that were deprived of the sun/son can get the nourishment that they need. We can fully bloom.
All of this from a tree? Yep. The earth is the Lord's and everything that he ever made was meant to point back to the only wise God who is the way the truth and the life. In scripture is says that no one should be able claim ignorance of him because just looking at the earth men should know that there was a creator.
The way that I recognized the dead tree limbs was because they weren't growing anything. They were bare. Some of the more dangerous branches were discolored and showed signs of being diseased. What part of our lives is barren and possibly diseased? There is a beautiful parable that names those who are saved as the branches of a grape vine. It called for us to be pruned so that we can bare fruit. If we are to be fruitful in our lives we must open ourselves up to the cutting away of everything dead in our lives. We need to make room for more life. Some examples of these dead branches might be old relationships that just don't fit into who we are or a church that doesn't fit our needs that we attend for no other reason than to say that we went. Fortunately dead things tend to fall apart easily. Shearers will easily cut away dead branches. I was able to pull away many of the dead branches on my tree with just my hands.
The branches that were difficult for me to pull down were those being protected by the living branches. Living branches are difficult to pull down. As I tried to work my way to one of the dead branches through a live branch that was in my way it almost took me away! Living branches are resilient and do not easily break but bend under weight until it reaches a point where it will snap back into place. If you want to know the difference between what is alive and what is dead in your life think back in your life to the times where your life was pressured. What may have been pulled but came back, and what snapped and broke off? We also should consider whether or not the things that died need to be brought back to life. If so that is something that only God can do.
The biblical parable of the vines and branches goes further to name the Lord as the vine dresser. We need the Lord's discernment to recognize what needs to be cut away and how to do that. I would even go as far to say that depending on our level of relationship with our vine dresser we may just open ourselves and tell our Lord, "cut where you will because I trust you." Once the things that are eye sores on our lives and dangers to our abundant life have been taken away we can better reflect that majesty of the Lord, and the areas that were deprived of the sun/son can get the nourishment that they need. We can fully bloom.
All of this from a tree? Yep. The earth is the Lord's and everything that he ever made was meant to point back to the only wise God who is the way the truth and the life. In scripture is says that no one should be able claim ignorance of him because just looking at the earth men should know that there was a creator.
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