How Are We Like a Leaf?

Don’t worry…this post is not going to be some sappy poem (sorry about the pun there).  I tend to like to make rhymes but have never written any serious poetry.  But as I’m looking out my windows this morning I’m noticing that the leaves are changing and pretty colors are abounding.  No, the view below is not outside of my house 🙂

 

I think that most of you know that as the days grow shorter and the amount of sunlight decreases, there is not enough light or water for photosynthesis. The trees begin to rest and shut down their “food making factories” in the leaves.  The green chlorophyll which gives the leaves their summer color disappears and we begin to see the other colors.  What is interesting to me is that small amounts of the yellow and orange that we see in the Fall, are actually in the leaves all along, they are just covered up by the chlorophyll.

I think we are like a leaf in the following way.  When we are exposed to the Son of God, when we have regular contact with Him and when we are in obedience, the fruit of the Spirit is evident in our lives.  When we are “bathed” in the Son, that fruit, like chlorophyll, is very visible to the world around us.  However, we never truly get rid of all of our sin.  Like the yellow and orange that are always present in what appears to be totally green leaves, our sin can be covered over, or minimized as we are following Jesus.  But, like the leaves, if our exposure to the Son of God dwindles…if we walk away from Him and go our own way, the fruit of the Spirit becomes less evident and the sin becomes more and more prominent.  The “yellows and oranges” of envy and jealousy and lust become more prominent in our lives.  This is how we are like the leaves.

Fortunately, we are unlike the leaves in that the Son of God is never less available to us.  He is always “shining” brightly and is there for us 24/7.  So, let’s keep ourselves facing the Son, let’s keep the fruit of the Spirit evident in our lives.  We can stay “green” with Christ-likeness all year round.

Have a “Son-filled” day.