Floating Leaves
John Miller
11/06/19
- Windstream Mail
R E F L E C T I O N S Thoughts on nature and the Christian faith - 11/4/19 _____________________________________________________ "We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away." - Isa. 64:6 |
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Being on the shores of one of my favorite West Virginia lakes before dawn is always a treat for me. Watching the darkness give way to the mist and fog of an autumn sunrise turns my thoughts to the power and artistry of the One I worship. When I came across these colorful leaves floating on the surface of the water with the lifting fog in the background I knew I had the image I wanted. But what struck me when I took this picture were the sunken decaying leaves below the surface. No doubt they had once been full of color as they floated on the water but, like all living things, they too had succumbed to death and decay. The wages of sin is death and that curse has infected all of creation. If that were the end of the story, life would be meaningless. But God has promised a rescue for those who put their trust in what He has done for us through his Son. There is life after death, there is renewal after decay, there is atonement for sin. When I look at this image, I see a descent from life to death to decay. These leaves were once full of life, sustained by the tree from which they nursed. Then they fell. They retained their color for awhile, but even that faded and they sank into the mire. We all will follow in their path. But then, praise God, there can be a reversal. We can be raised from the mire, we can be washed clean, and we can be given new color more radiant than ever before. And then we will rise to be grafted into the tree of eternal life. There we shall stay forever feeding from the One who is the way, the truth, and the life. As I watch my own color fade, I sometimes fear the process of dying but not death itself, because I know what awaits me beyond death and decay. It will be life, it will be cleansing, it will be wonder. - John
