“Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling.” 2 Corinthians 5:2
“OH WOW… look at THAT!” If I said it once, I said it a hundred times! And so did she! The trip to our mountain retreat was much needed, and before we even hit the ground, we could see the evidence of fall from the window of the plane. Beautifully colored leaves covered the mountains and seemed to proclaim, ‘Welcome!’ As the sun shined, the colorful leaves danced. Fall was in full bloom!
The timing was in perfect contrast to what we had just left. In the aftermath of Hurricane Ian, fatigue and debris muddled my thoughts beyond simply physical exhaustion. We needed a boost! Thank God I had made arrangements to fly to the mountains months ago. And there we were! Transferred from the tropics to the mountains, and my attitude changed with the altitude!
It wasn’t until we were there for a few days that Katie reminded me WHY the leaves change color. It’s not that the red, yellow and brown hues aren’t existent beforehand, Those are truly their natural color. It is the living green chlorophyll that overpowers their normal state. It is only in dying and being cut off from that living substance, that the earth tones are revealed. Interesting!
It is also interesting that we call the season of leaf dying ‘Fall.’ When Adam and Eve were in the Garden of Eden, they were naked and didn’t know it, because the Glory of God, and the relationship with Him, covered them. We call the act of their deliberate choice to go their own way as ‘The Fall’ of man. The time when God’s life stopped flowing into them and death became their natural end.
As I write this, some of our own are facing the untimely death of a loved one too young to be going. The situation is hard and awkward. But nonetheless, it is very real. Why is it that when we see the beauty of the changing leaves we cry out ‘Wow!’ but yet when facing physical death, we ‘groan?’ The answer lies in today’s Bible verse and is intended to provide us with purpose and a calming joy.
When leaves fall, we admire their beauty, then curse the work of raking them together. In the mountains, folks just burn them! Which is exactly what satan wants God to do with us. But hiding under the surface, unseen by natural man, is The Spirit’s call to Life Forward! A living invitation from God to be clothed with His Glory to LIVE as intended from the Beginning! Where the Son shines!
Are YOU living and looking forward, allowing The Son to shine on and through YOU? If so, groaning is natural!
