Christ Is Our New Creation!
“The voice of the Lord twists the oaks and strips the forests bare. And in his temple all cry, ‘Glory!’” – Psalm 29:9
To hear God’s voice we must belong to Him. Through faith, His grace strengthens us, and helps us to become better listeners. We hear His voice when we spend time in prayer; the more intimate conversation we have with God the easier it is to see how He is leading our lives.
In Scripture we read about Samuel, who did not recognize the voice of God without the help of Eli. We sometimes do not realize just how important communication is in providing clarity for others. The words we share can make all the difference in how things are perceived and followed, especially with face-to-face conversation, not text messages or emails.
When we purchased our wooded property in the fall of 2013, there was a beautiful gigantic oak tree at the entrance of the lane leading to the house. During construction in May of 2014, we noticed the leaves of the oak were brown and dying off the tree. Our neighbor is an arborist, and he told us the tree had been struck by lightening in one of the spring thunderstorms.
I explained to our two-year-old grandson, Brayden, that the tree was turning brown and losing its leaves because it was no longer alive. Five months later in October, remembering that explanation, and seeing the leaves begin to fall from all the trees, he was very concerned. It was time for his curious mind to have more information.
We found lots of acorns under some damp leaves that were already growing fragile roots, so we planted the acorns in jars and have been watching new life grow. This month we had the big oak tree cut down and noticed the midnight blue streak all through the trunk of the tree, which was about four feet in diameter. I described to Brayden that the dark blue wood was the place where lightning had struck and darkened the tree in the thunderstorm.
Once again, he was looking concerned, like he needed more information. We talked about the storms of nature not always being something to fear because God always provided a way to begin life anew, like in the fallen acorns that we planted.
More important than planted acorns and new oak trees, we have new life in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. When the stain of sin darkens our soul, we have the opportunity to begin anew by the power of God’s love and mercy. But I think I will save this analogy for Brayden with a future conversation.
Christmas and the birth of baby Jesus, a new creation, is a beautiful time to embrace God’s love for us. As the end of December approaches, we begin to think about the ending of one year and the start of a new one. “The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” – 2 Corinthians 5:17
If we are in relationship with Jesus we too become a new creation! The voice of God will be very familiar to us; and no matter what happens in life we will cry out, “Glory!” Amen!
