It's that time of year again, and as I gaze at the brilliant colors of fall I thought I'd reshare this post...
Every autumn we are blessed with a dazzling display of color as the leaves turn away from their summer hues. It was always my understanding that the normally green leaves somehow changed to the brilliant reds, yellows and oranges that we enjoy every fall, but I had it backwards.
Did you know that many of the dazzling colors we enjoy come autumn are actually there all along? Amazing, isn't it? As the days shorten, the trees begin to shut down their food-making process of photosynthesis. The green chlorophyll disappears from the leaves, revealing the colors that were there all along.
I couldn't help but think of how this parallels our walk as Christians. Of course, we're not green with chlorophyll but we are stained with sin. For many of us, to some extent and for most of our lives, that's what we display - the stain of sin. But for those who walk closely with Christ, spending time speaking to Him in prayer, listening to Him through His Word, the Bible, and striving to obey His commands, something beautiful happens. The stain of sin begins to wane and our true colors burst forth!
"And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit." ~ 2 Corinthians 3:18
Suddenly, we start looking like Jesus! As we mature, the beauty that was in us from the moment the Holy Spirit entered our lives - the beauty of Christ - begins to overpower the stain of sin. We begin acting in ways contrary to our human nature; we begin acting more and more like Jesus.
And people see it.
And wonder why we're so different from everyone else.
And want what we have.
Even more amazing than the fact that our "true colors" in Christ are eventually visible to others is the fact that they're visible to God all the time. Wherever we are in our walk, thanks to the cleansing power of the blood of Christ, when God looks at us what He sees are our true colors - the stainless beauty of Christ!
As I was typing this, the lyrics from the hymn "In Christ Alone" started playing in my mind:
There in the ground His body lay
Light of the world by darkness slain
Then bursting forth in glorious Day
Up from the grave He rose again
And as He stands in victory
Sin's curse has lost it's grip on me
For I am His and He is mine
Brought with the precious blood of Christ
Bursting forth. That's exactly how it feels. The balance is tipped and suddenly the goodness of Christ comes flowing out. And that's exactly how God designed it to be.
Lord, it is humbling to think that you have chosen me to reflect your glory. I pray that more and more in my life, the stain of sin would wane and the glory of Christ would be displayed to draw the lost of this fallen world to the salvation you so freely give.
Lord, it is humbling to think that you have chosen me to reflect your glory. I pray that more and more in my life, the stain of sin would wane and the glory of Christ would be displayed to draw the lost of this fallen world to the salvation you so freely give.
Lisa
I love this! Jesus in me brings out my true colors! What an awesome truth. Thank you for it!
I didn't know that about trees and their leaves. Thank you for teaching me!
Such a beautiful new way to see my favorite season! Thank you so much for sharing this post! I hope you'll consider linking up with Recommendation Saturday each week! The link is still open this week: http://reneweddaily.com/recommendation-saturday_111713/
Blessings! <3 Shelly
Thank you for sharing with us here at "Tell Me a Story." Your beautiful leaves made me think of the many delightful ways God paints his universe. I wonder what kind of leaves Adam and Eve used to cover themselves. May we be covered with the garments God provides for us so we do not need the crumbling leaves.
Nice way of sharing this info. One of the colorful leaf bit that I was told of years ago is that, just like trees, we older folks are bright and colorful and a blessing... and then the leaves will fly away, and leave the tree/body empty of the color. Well, when we go to heaven, being colorful people here, we'll probably be colorful there. I think about that every fall. And I smile.
wonderful!! Jesus does indeed show us our true colors. perfect for my fave season, too!! God bless you Lisa!