The Tree That Preached A Sermon

I'm not actually cutting down every tree in my yard, but we did cut down another tree yesterday. It was an old cherry tree. 

I don't know why we called it a cherry tree. It didn't bear fruit, but it did have pretty blossoms in the spring. Until it didn't. 

The tree didn't look sick to me, but it was ugly. Even I, who never want to sacrifice a tree, thought it needed to go.  

The tree had already been cut when I arrived home from lunch with friends. I walked over to look at the stump and was shocked by what I saw. It was no wonder the tree looked spindly. It was so diseased that the center of the trunk was nothing but crumbling dust. The bark slipped off the trunk like wrapping paper from a package.

The preacher who cut down my tree came over to join me in my inspection.

"This looks awful. What caused it to deteriorate like this?"

"That's what sin will do." 

"My tree sinned?"

"Nope. Bugs ate up the tree. But that's what sin does in our lives. We still look fine on the outside, but on the inside, where no one can see, sin just eats us up. If we don't let God deal with it, sin will destroy us from the inside out."

That tree preached me a sermon.

I don't want sin in my life to reap a harvest like this tree got from the bugs gnawing inside. Probably you don't either.

There's only one solution. Keep short accounts and allow Jesus to cleanse us from all our sin and unrighteousness. 

"If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins 

and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." 

                                                                        1 John 1:9 nasb

Take another look at the inside of that tree. We don't want that kind of destruction in our lives, but sin gnaws and consumes. It always takes a toll. The pleasure of the moment is never worth the price we'll pay.

We have a choice. Sin or righteousness. We can't choose both, so let's choose righteousness.
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In case you missed one of this week's posts, here are the links:  The Blizzard That Was Not,  The Truth That Matters Most: My Redeemer Lives, Truth That Matters: God Sees,  The Importance of Light, A Little Good News: Working Together,  Things I've Learned: There is a God and I'm Not It, and Cutting Down a Tree and Praying for Miracles.

Be sure to check out my new Amazon Author Page. You can follow me on Amazon.

#sin #JesusChrist #righteousness #repent #Christian