Conquerors
There’s a dogwood tree just outside our bedroom window. It has grown rather close to the house but in the spring, after the beautiful white blossoms drop to the ground, the leaves that are left behind are a deep green, providing a view of health and vitality.
The irony is that the tree itself is a hodgepodge of life and death. The tree has spots running from top to bottom that are dire signs of decay and rot. Then, you see other angles of bark and bloom that prove other wise. From the window view alone there are branches that are very much alive and others that are clearly dried up. But the tree has life in it still. It keeps producing life and fighting against the decay that so desperately wants to set in.
The dogwood tree outside our window, filled with branches that are alive and dead
“Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will reveal to us later. For all creation is waiting eagerly for that future day when God will reveal who his children really are. Against its will, all creation was subjected to God’s curse. But with eager hope, the creation looks forward to the day when it will join God’s children in glorious freedom from death and decay. For we know that all creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.
And we believers also groan, even though we have the Holy Spirit within us as a foretaste of future glory, for we long for our bodies to be released from sin and suffering. We, too, wait with eager hope for the day when God will give us our full rights as his adopted children, including the new bodies he has promised us.” —Romans 8:18-23 NLT
Listen, YOU are not done yet. Amidst the war of sin within you, that seeks to cause rot and decay in your relationship with God, there is still life and material for God to use. Just the other night, our confirmation group spoke of Romans 8 and the great groan of creation, who waits for the curse of sin and death to be lifted and yearns for the revealing of the children of God. It is THAT moment that all of “this” is headed—history, the present, all that is to come. Everything considered “reality” is heading toward the moment of His glorious return, when Christ will put all things under His feet and reign over His new creation.
In the meantime, we draw close to God (James 4.8); we rest in the truth that there is no condemnation for those that are in Christ Jesus, and being in Jesus means we have the Spirit to give us life (Romans 8.1-2). We fight the temporary decay, understanding that there is eternal life. We do NOT let the world and its troubles keep us down (2 Corinthians 4.8-10). We are more than conquerors (Romans 8.37)!
So today, when you feel like you’ve got one branch that’s dying and another full of leaves, remember that Christ is close—closer than we understand—and that with creation we can yearn and groan for His fullness and His grace. God is setting things right and when that work is finished, all will truly be well.
—Pastor Whit
Read more inspirational messages regarding faith by checking out past Whitt’s End articles.