In temperate regions, it is Autumn and the leaves on trees have started to change their colors. I remember enjoying these autumn leaves when we lived in California. In other places the colors of the leaves is even more wilder and riotous. It makes for an awesome and delightful sight and experience.
Soon the trees will begin shedding off their leaves. The landscape will be bare, cold and desolate. Yet, there is ever the hope of spring when everything comes back to life. It is amazing how God (okay, Nature for some) can transform detritus into beauty or dust (okay, it is in fact stardust) into a breathing human being. It is even more amazing how He can transform me, a weak-kneed sinner into a good person through his grace.
“Just so, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”
Life is a paradox and its deepest truths are a mystery. There are realities that cannot be proven scientifically and some people have concluded that these do not exist, like the soul, or spirit, or life after death or even God. Some truths are contradictions, like it is in giving that we receive; in pardoning that we are pardoned and in dying that we are born to eternal life; that being slave is to be free and that suffering and pain lead to happiness and joy.
I have learned that the yoke of love and forgiveness is indeed a lighter load than the bitterness and anger that comes with hate and desire for revenge; that the yoke of sharing and generosity is easier to carry than the anxiety and envy that comes with greed and self-centeredness; that being a slave to simplicity and service frees me from the enslavement of and obsession for material goods an possession.
Yes, Christ and his words make sense and they are indeed the source of life. But there are times I refuse to listen or to heed them. A cup full of stale water cannot take in new and fresh water.