I lost a tree in my front yard. The snow that piled up on it got a bit too heavy and down it went. There is just a stump left now, a chainsaw removed the tree and it's branches, cutting as close to the ground as possible, just a stump remains. But there is a stump... and there are roots under the ground.
I'd like another tree in that spot, but even though the tree is gone, there is a problem planting anything else in that exact spot....at least until the roots from that tree rot away. Even then the leftover roots cause problems.
Every year, we fight old roots in our garden. Even after the many years that same plot of ground has been disked, plowed, and tilled, those old roots work their way to the top and we find ourselves pulling and chopping more old roots, ridding the soil of what hinders us from working the ground.
We are effective in dealing with those old roots, it is hard word, and certainly annoying, but we can manage it. They are dead and rotting, but still they make it harder to work that plot of soil. But we continue and each year it seems to be a little easier.
This stump is another story. Though the tree is gone, the stump is still very hard wood, and the roots...well, I'm not sure they know they are dead yet. It wouldn't surprise me to see them put up some little shoots somewhere. The root is where the life comes from...
The Bible uses so many illustrations using trees or vines, roots, and branches. This morning my mind keeps going to those life-giving roots, but especially from the negative. (...seems that is how I learn best...)
"....let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles...."(Hebrews 12:1)
When there is a tree in our life that needs to come down, (some personal sin), it is often pretty easy to just chop it down, maybe even haul off the tree trunk and all the branches. But if that root is not dealt with, it can pop up new life somewhere else.
And even when the roots finally die, the rotted thing sometimes still causes difficulty. The leftovers are there. And they cause us to work hard to rid our plot of ground from the evidence of that past life.
We can be effective in dealing with the tree. We can, and must choose to 'throw off' personal sin.
But we are foolish to think we can deal with the life that remains in the roots. We need Help. Else we may find ourselves chopping down trees for a very long time.
When there is a tree in our life that needs to come down, (some personal sin), it is often pretty easy to just chop it down, maybe even haul off the tree trunk and all the branches. But if that root is not dealt with, it can pop up new life somewhere else.
And even when the roots finally die, the rotted thing sometimes still causes difficulty. The leftovers are there. And they cause us to work hard to rid our plot of ground from the evidence of that past life.
We can be effective in dealing with the tree. We can, and must choose to 'throw off' personal sin.
But we are foolish to think we can deal with the life that remains in the roots. We need Help. Else we may find ourselves chopping down trees for a very long time.
"Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith.."(Hebrews 12:2)
