Rain

- July 15, 2008

Phil loves to watch lightning and the usual rain that comes with it. One day this Spring, we were outside in the front of our house and it started to rain...not the rain that drives you inside, but the rain that's rather nice and peaceful. I watched as the tree (actually the one we call the devil tree, because it spits these feathery things in the Fall that are impossible to clean up) filled up with water. I could not help but be reminded that trees and Christians have a lot in common.

They need a constant source to feed them. "Blessed is the man...whose delight is in the law of the Lord...He is like a tree planted by streams of water,"... Ps. 1:1, 2 One of the reasons a tree prospers is because it has a constant supply of water going to it. Jesus is our constant supply of water and if we keep drinking from Him we will be filled. "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled." Matt. 5:6

But because we keep emptying ourselves, we have to keep drinking. "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." Matt. 5:3 This was the first BE ATTITUDE Jesus taught his disciples in what we call, The Sermon on the Mount. Emptying ourselves of ourselves is the only way we can become filled with Jesus. Before I can BE the Christian, God wants me to BE, I have to be "poverty stricken in spiritual resources" which is why Jesus says "poor in spirit." When I keep emptying myself, I have to keep filling myself up, in order to have enough "Jesus" to give to others.

Right before the rain, the leaves turn up, to catch the water. "I lift up my eyes to the hills--where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth," Ps. 121:1-2 "As the eyes of slaves look to the hand of their master,... so our eyes look to the Lord." Ps. 123:2a Just like the branches raise their leaves, if I raise my eyes, I will see and receive the source of living water. Jesus says to the woman at the well, "If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water." John 4:10

When the branches become heavy, they bow down, almost completely to the ground. "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." Matt. 11:28 Sometimes, the burdens we bear are almost overwhelming. Sometimes we feel completely beaten down, with the weight of the world on our shoulders.

But they do bow down. "Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time." 1 Pet. 5:6 "Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the LORD our Maker, for he is our God and we are the people of his pasture, the flock under his care." Ps. 95:6, 7

What appears to be their burdens is really for their nourishment. "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything." James 1:2-4 Some people are like corn that grows overnight but some people are like oaks that grow a lifetime.

After we mature, we grow fruit that reveals our nature. "No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. Each tree is recognized by its own fruit." Luke 6:13, 14a

When we are saturated, we overflow. "For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows." 2 Cor. 1:5 "For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks." Luke 6:45b.

We always come up again, if we endure the storm. "And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light." Col 1:10-12 The "up again" in this passage if we "endure," is the reward of Heaven...the ultimate "up" we will ever have.

During the storm, we always have a glimmer of hope. "Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see." Heb. 11:1 "Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess." Heb. 4:14 Somewhere the son is shining, even when we see only a glimmer of Him.

We both have a purpose. "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it." Isaiah 55:9-11 As the rain nourishes the wheat that brings forth the bread, I am nourished by the Bread of life who reigns over me, so I can feed others.

And finally...

The trees and I have the same response. Isaiah continues, "You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands." Isaiah 55:12 After the storm, we sing praises to God, as we stand tall, reach up and clap our hands.