Falling into Life.

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I’ve got a feeling that this tree has been dying a slow death. Year after year, storm after storm the ground slowly gives way and exposes the roots which give this tree life. Yet as it is dying, it continues to grow. It doesn’t give up simply because it’s literally losing ground. Every year, every month, every day the tree continues to do what it’s suppose to do: live.

Sunset Bay, Oregon

The day is coming when it will fall into the ocean and join the driftwood that lines the beach, but until that day it will continue to live.

“We know that God, who raised the Lord Jesus, will also raise us with Jesus and present us to himself together with you. All of this is for your benefit. And as God’s grace reaches more and more people, there will be great thanksgiving, and God will receive more and more glory. That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day.” 
2 Corinthians 4:14 New Living Translation

I wonder who Paul had in mind when he used the pronoun, “we.” Was he thinking about the leaders of the church, the people of Corinth, or both? I believe he was writing about everyone who have been captivated by the life-giving Spirit. The reason Paul didn’t give up, the Corinthians didn’t give up, and we don’t give up is because of the power of Jesus’ resurrection. We keep on keeping on because we know that even though our bodies grow tired and will one day fall into death, the power of the Spirit is at work in us; the power that raises the dead.

We don’t wait until the day of Christ’s return to experience this resurrection power. It is ours now. Our bodies are falling to decay but the new person, who has been redeemed in Christ, is always in the process of renewal.

And so, like this tree, we keep living until the day that we experience our new life with Christ.

Text and Picture Copyright Douglas P Brauner