More than Filling in the Cracks

My grandfather is known for his non-conventional farming habits. We've had many laughs over his groundhog hunting quests and attempts at saving errant foliage. He once had two identical bushes and one died, so for about 8 years every spring he spray painted the one bush green to match the other so he wouldn't have to mess up the matching. No joke.

He also at times will fill a cracked tree with cement to hold it together. Tonight while walking through the farm I noticed a tree that wasn't blooming on one side. As I got closer I saw this: 

It is one of the cemented trees, but after years of being cemented, it is no longer holding, and the branches, one by one, are dying. It won't be long before the whole tree will perish, needing to be cut down and uprooted.

It made me realize that if we aren't careful, our lives can be the same. If we only patch the cracks in the foundation of our lives, the patches will eventually crack themselves and our branches will be affected. The longer the cracks are allowed to remain the more far-reaching the branches and therefore the more obvious the impending disease.

A cracked tree may not be easily repairable for the long term, but it is not so with our lives! Jesus came, not just to patch the cracks, but restore them as if they never were. This is the message of Easter! This is reason to celebrate!

If any person is in Christ, he is a new creation (a new creature all together);

The old has passed away.

Behold, the fresh and new has come!

2 Corinthians 5:17, Amp