Trees

I am back thinking about a tree, the roots, the leaves where it is planted is just what it is. It is a tree, you can tell it is a tree by all of that, there are no arguments that it is just that a tree. It can not change what it is, because that is what it was designed to be. The tree can bring us shade on sunny days, but it can also bring us shelter from hard rains. It provides so many resources to us when it is living, but it is only a tree.

We however are not just a tree, we are people, we are human beings designed by the creator of the universe. God designed us, He made us. He provides trees for us, so that we can have oxygen to breath, even shade or even food. God did that for us, have you ever thought about how we would not be here without God, but yet we take Him for granted, we take His name in vain, we are quick to blame Him for the worst and then praise Him only when we feel like it. We show Him reverence on Sunday mornings at Church, but what about the rest of the time through the week, are we showing Him the respect, the fear that He deserves? Do we think this is just the way I am? My question is, if you say that, are you a tree or a complex being created for so much more than just to be. God created us to worship Him, to honor Him, to share His name with the world, not to only do it on Sunday's. He has created helpful instructions to live by in the Bible, are we living by them?

Proverbs 1:7 says "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction." That is just the beginning, just think if I continue to reverance Him as the great creator of all things, do you think that I will continue to learn, to change to grow? Matthew 22:37 "Jesus replied: "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.'" Jesus calls us to put Him first in all things, not just when it feels right, but all times, these two verses go hand in hand, because when we fear the Lord, we will want to honor Him, to follow His instructions. But when we don't care about how God views things all we want is to please ourselves, to do only the things that we want to do, but we do not care about what God says.

Are we trees that can't change or are we Christ followers that need to change to deepen our walk not just on Sundays, but every moment of everyday? Yes, it takes work, but everything that is worth doing takes work. If you want something to last you build it right, you take time, you ensure it will last, our Christian walk is no different than that. Just like in marriages, if we want it to last, we need to put the work into every part of the house.

Isn't it time to say I am not a tree, but I am created to praise God, just as the trees do by reaching their branches towards heaven. We need to reach our hands towards heaven, to turn from our wicked ways, and to confess our sins, because it is time to be a people of putting God first in all things. He needs to be at the center of our lives, to fear how He sees our actions, because He sees and knows our hearts. What is He seeing in your heart today? Is He pleased? Do you care how He feels? Ephesians 4:30 "And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption." Are you grieving the Holy Spirit? Be who God is calling you to be, do the work, it is worth it, He will change you, but first you have to take the steps to want to be changed.