“By oppression and judgment He was taken away. Yet who of His generation protested?  For He was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people He was punished.”  Isaiah 53:8

For years we have had meandering trees and plants growing alongside our house. While WE liked the shade and the greenery, the love was not exclusive… rats and varmints loved it too. A friend suggested that if I wanted the rats gone, I would have to make the jungle disappear! Determined to erRATicate the forest, I set to work to cut out the offending trees by the roots! The deforestation was going well… until!

One particular tree had roots that went everywhere! Grabbing and pulling usually freed the smaller roots from the surrounding earth, but one root refused to budge. I am human. I am smart. I have tools! In determined frustration I isolated the offending root, grabbed my loppers and CUT! What I saw within a nano-second was not good!

The tree had been planted by my wife AFTER the internet fiber optic cable had been installed. Not able to go DOWN into the ground, the root grew OVER the cable. I could not see the cable until AFTER the fatal cut! I knew immediately that this was going to take a professional to fix…someone who had skills BEYOND my understanding and abilities. I called the internet provider to restore communication!

It would have been easy if it was just coaxial cable. I know how to splice a wire. But this fiber-optic stuff is different and requires special tools and skills. I was blessed to meet the technician to tuned out to be an old Jesus acquaintance from years ago. I got to watch him do his thing, learn what it took to restore fiber AND talk about Jesus… all at the same time. What could be better?

The roots of sin are deep and stubborn, confining mankind to a life devoid of God. It was going to take a specialist to root out the problem that kept me from God. Mankind had NO way of knowing just how far God had to go to accomplish the restoration. He sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to pay MY penalty for the sin that kept me disconnected from true life. He came willingly and at no cost to humanity. And we killed Him for it!

This week, as we approach Palm Sunday, we may want to read Isaiah 53 to see how far Christ had to come to restore my connection to the Father. To do it, HE had to be cut off from His Father first. A painful operation that nobody could understand. But one no one really cared in the first place!

Humans are infested with rats and roots. God came to restore us to life. For those of us who HAVE taken God up on His ‘free offer’ of restoration there is nothing better on this earth. Sadly, most of those who HAVEN’T, don’t even know there is a problem. You might say they cant see the forest for the trees… or the roots! Are YOU connected?