Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life:

John 11:25a

Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. John 14:6

Sometimes, I wander. I wander around our little country neighborhood and try to clear my mind and settle my heart. The other day, I just meant to notice the sights, but then I began to notice the sounds. The blue jay, the guineas, the rooster all had their distinct sound, their voice. I marveled at how uniquely and purposefully God made each one. The blue jay sounded a warning. The guineas ran towards me "grackling" for attention. The rooster was just showing off for the hens, announcing the day.

Then there were the daffodils silently swaying in the breeze brightening a ditch. Even their sunny faces were purposeful, don't you think? 

Dogs yipped, barked, and howled inside the farmhouse fence. Some wanted attention, others thought they were the purposeful guardians of their domain. 

As I walked past the farmyard and came to the hayfields and woods, I noticed a large maple tree, still winter dead, bare except for the mistletoe growing in the top. It wasn't just one mistletoe. There were lots of patches whose roots were going down through the bark into the sapwood, dependent on the tree for food, and life itself.

Once, a tiny mistletoe berry dropped from a plant or a bird into a crevice in the bark. There it sprouted and dug deep to attach itself. Mistletoe is a parasitic plant, depending on a host for its life. 

As I looked at the tree, I thought about how the mistletoe would kill the tree, but the tree seemed to willingly allow the mistletoe to thrive from the tree's own lifeblood, the sap. 

Are we not all sinners responsible for the death of God's Son? But the good news is that when Satan thought he had Jesus killed, buried, and sealed in a tomb, Jesus rose again. We can have eternal life through Jesus Christ if we allow Him to give us the life we cannot attain by ourselves.

In a few weeks, the maple tree will remind me again that Jesus arose. The maple tree will be covered in the green leaves of a resurrected spring. We likely won't be able to see the mistletoe parasite without looking closely.  The tree won't host just one plant but many.  And like Jesus, it will cover all those parasites because the tree is the life that gives life to all the mistletoes who attach themselves to it. 

Tall silent winter dead trees; parasitic mistletoes; in the middle of a field -- an often overlooked reminder of God's purpose in sending His Son -- to give us eternal life.

Heavenly Father, thank you for the beauty of your creation. Thank you for reminding me that you purposefully created everything to point us to Christ. Thank you for the salvation you have given me through the sacrifice of your Son. In Jesus's name. Amen.

Hey Kids:

Are there flowers blooming in your yard? 

Have you noticed the shapes and the colors?

Do you wonder what purpose God had in creating them? 

I love drawing and painting nature. Perhaps you would like to do a little nature journaling.

Draw something that stands out to you and make a few notes about God's purpose for such wonders in nature.