by Rev Douglas Brauner

Understanding our purpose in life.

You can listen to today’s devotion by clicking on this SoundCloud link.

“[John the Baptist said,] He must increase in importance, while I must decrease in importance.”
John 3:30 God’s Word to the Nations

Frank Sinatra sang about flying to the moon. This tree will not fly any of us to the moon, but it does point to the moon.

Black Forest Regional Park, Black Forest, Colorado

As I hiked among the dead pine trees, at Black Forest Regional Park, one evening and among the wonderful undergrowth, the rising moon appeared in the brilliant light of the setting sun. Having hiked a short distance, this lone tree caught my attention. Then I noticed that the moon made an interesting component in the picture.

I started by composing the picture with the moon slightly to the left of the tree. However, I noticed this one branch pointing downward, and wondered what it would look like if I framed it pointing at the moon. Thus, the birth of this picture.

A dead tree pointing to the moon.

Many people thought that John the Baptist might be the Christ, and why not? The Bible tells us that many people were going out to him to be baptized in the Jordan River. He spoke with authority, as a prophet would speak. John understood that his job was not to draw attention to himself, but to point to Jesus. “He must increase in importance, while I must decrease in importance.”

God’s love is not about us, it’s for us. That’s hard for us to comprehend. We tend to think that life is about us. However, we are the dead tree in our sin, but God has made us alive through Jesus. We, broken and forgiven people, point to Jesus. We point to the One who hung on a dead tree for us, that we might live.

May John’s word exemplify our lives: “He must increase in importance, while I must decrease in importance.”

Copyright Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Colorado Springs, Colorado