An Unnecessary Fall

The prairies have few trees, and in South Dakota the farther West you travel the fewer trees you come across. Thankfully there are plenty of trees in each town, and I imagine they were planted at the same time the town was formed. This time of year I can see a row of trees out my window and watch them slowly turn from green to red, orange, purple, and then brown. It is a bittersweet sight, for there is much beauty in the colorful array, but the changes also remind me that winter is coming.
Trees make their own food from sunlight and water, so they store up extra food in the summer in order to lie dormant in the winter when both sunlight and usable water are scarce. The lush green color of summer leaves comes from the presence of chlorophyll. When trees stop making their own food they conserve energy by stopping the production of chlorophyll, and the green color fades from the leaf. Once this color is removed underlying colors that were always present in the leaf, such as red, orange, and purple, will appear. Trees also recycle their waste back into the ground, so in order to conserve energy they will just let waste remain in their leaves during the fall, which gives off an overwhelming brown color. Not long after this color transformation happens the leaves will fall off the tree altogether. I am often amazed at how intricate natural life is. Trees know that winter is coming and prepare accordingly, and the beautiful colors are just a byproduct of that process. On the other hand, in our Christian lives there is not a hint of beauty when we choose to starve ourselves from God’s nourishment.
The first Psalm compares godly living to being like a super-evergreen tree that never has to prepare for winter. It says, “Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night. That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither-whatever they do prospers” (Ps 1:1-3).
Trees go through seasons because their resources dry up, but God’s resources never do! He has revealed himself in his Word, which we can meditate on daily and nightly—if we want to read it and hear it. He has offered to hear our prayers, which we can give him anytime, anyplace, and with any frequency—if we want to speak them. He has placed his Spirit in us as a down payment for resurrection in his kingdom, joining our lives to his own life in Christ; he tells us to walk in his Spirit—if we want to refrain from quenching it through sin and indifference. He has pronounced blessings on his people who are rooted in him, finding nourishment through worship, Word, prayer, and sacrament—if we want to take part regularly in such things.

Despite God’s offer of never-ending resources, too many Christians behave as if their spiritual resources are scarce. They choose to go through seasons, like trees, in which they disconnect from God’s streams of water and let their fruits shrivel and their leaves wither. But it does not have to be that way, for autumn is an unnecessary season in the life of a Christian. If you are going through a season of wilting, take delight today in God’s revelation of himself in his word. Reconnect to the streams of living water in Christ through his Spirit. Offer up prayers to God, especially if you have found yourself wandering over to where wicked people, sinners, and mockers like to be. God is gracious. When you turn back to him, he is always willing to welcome you and fill you with abundant life—an endless summer!