![]() ![]() Life’s hardships can make us cynical, and cause us to focus on the challenges we face rather than the glorious creator God who is with us in the midst of them. Heavy rain can drive leaves from the trees. We must make less and less of our passions and desires, so that Christ can become more in us. John the Baptist said ‘ He must increase, but I must decrease’ (John 3:30) and a little later Jesus said ‘ Only the Spirit gives life human strength can achieve nothing ’ (John 6:63). If it has been untimely ripped from its tree by strong winds it will not have had the chance to return all that goodness to the tree, and become a light hollow shell. Three things make a leaf heavy: its own nutrients, rain, and dirt.Ī leaf that is weighed down by the moisture and sugars that it has been producing all summer is unnecessarily heavy. Gravity pulls the leaves to the ground, but the lighter they are, the longer they seem to float. How can we avoid that happening in our lives? ![]() Yet the Spirit knows where he is taking us.Īutumn, however, always comes to an ignominious end, with those gloriously wafted leaves lying decomposing in a sodden, driven heap underneath a hedge somewhere. As we whirl through life’s ups and downs we may feel more confused than guided. Often we may feel like we don’t know where we’re going but think we are being driven along by the tide of circumstances, though in fact we are being borne along in the arms of the Spirit. Others don’t understand our attitudes and motivations, or our hope for the future. Those of us who are born of the Spirit are like leaves on the wind. It’s like that with those who are born of the Spirit. On a clear day, with a light breeze, it is possible to see a leaf wafting through the air and be amazed at its lightness and agility.Īlthough the title of this week’s blog, borrowed from Joss Whedon’s epic sci-fi film Serenity, sounds more Zen than Christian, it mirrors Jesus’ inscrutable saying in John 3:8 – The wind blows where it wills: you hear the sound of it, but you don’t know where it’s coming from or where it’s going. For many of us it is our favourite time of year, as we admire the glorious views and kick our way through piles of dry fallen leaves. At this time of year in the northern hemisphere, the colours of leaves turn to red, gold and brown, creating a magnificent kaleidoscope across the woodlands.
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