Tree Parasites

Have you ever chopped down a tree? I have, sometimes the tree is solid all the way through and that is a sturdy tree, but the ones you have to watch out for are the trees that are hollow in the center, that means they are structurally weak, they could fall differently than you had planned when cutting them down. The tree rotted from the inside out, how does it do that? That tree got soft from all the wear and tear of life, bugs and worms ate at its flesh the bark that protected it. Wood peckers came along on devoured bugs, but in doing so, tapped holes in the tree allowing for insects to get in. Then the rain came and the storms came and the tree got soft with the wetness. Soon the outside of the tree was still looking tough, but the holes had made way for parasites, animals, birds to get inside and eat the middle of the tree away. The tree looks good on the outside, but is broken on the inside

We again are much like that tree, when we let the world peck at us, destroy us and wear holes in us, we allow the parasites to eat at us. Soon we are rotting on the inside, because we look at the outside, we compare it to the world, we compare it to what the world says and we start dislike who we are. We begin to rot, maybe the outside looks a little tattered, but our insides are a mess, our heart is full of anger, dislike, hatred, selfishness, all of which God has told us how to walk away from, but unlike the tree, we can make a choice. The tree can't just say I want to change, but God has given us the freedom to make the change and He has said He will help us, but we must be willing to change, we must do what He calls us to do.

Have you ever seen a child say I want to do this or that? If we do it for the child, the child will never learn how to do it for themselves, God is doing that for us. He has provided a path for us to walk, but He says now walk in that path. If He did it for us, we would never learn how to walk, we would not learn the hard lessons and we would not learn. God wants us to learn, but it isn't by Him climbing the mountain for us, but us climbing the mountain with Him along side us. We must be willing to say, I am willing Lord to be taught, but we must do the steps necessary.

An alcoholic doesn't get sober and clean by saying I want to be clean, he must do the steps necessary to get clean. Look at the 12 steps, it is a battle, but talk to anyone that is recovering from it, they had to make a choice to do it and it took great work, but now that they are clean they don't want to go back. They put work into it, they did it and look they are changed, just the same as we can be changed when we finally say, NOT my will Lord, but Yours. Give up control to God, surrender, but keep doing what God has instructed us to do in His word, do the steps, put Him first, love Him the most, follow Him and be willing to follow what the Bible says, because that is the Word Of God.

Are you willing to start climbing? Are you willing to do the work? If so, then there is no time like the present to start, for tomorrow is not guaranteed, but you have today.