Shaped By The World

So as i was driving to church last night i noticed something i've noticed before. There were dozens of trees along the side of the small country road i was driving on. Trees that were old and strong. Trees that may have been there before the road was built. Trees that God created. Trees that were meant to be there. They grew and fluxuated with the seasons, just as God intended. Their leaves went through the changes and each year a new ring was added. That is when i noticed something not so natural about these trees.

Their branches had grown long and in all directions. They were un kept and grew freely far and in any direction. their growth was not inhibited by anyone except God himself. all except for the branches above the road. these were growing in a very unnatural pattern. They formed an upside down L shape. They seemed to grow above the road but only after a certain hight and only to the edge of the road. Then i realized the culperate.

The big rigs! You know the semitrucks that get your goods to the stores and your produce to the market. I realized that from years of those trucks passing through here carrying who knows what to who knows where the trees had to form around their path. The ways of this world inhibited their growth. This is much like many of our spiritual journys.

We often become so enveloped in this world that we don't recognize God all around us. We focus on what the world wants us to do instead of making God a number one priority. So our faith becomes tainted. The world inhibits its growth. Because the world demands things that force us into habits. We become preacupied with the road life put us on to see how were affecting the tree. The tree that God created to grow freely. Are we letting the things that the world requires get in the way of Gods plan?

Matthew 18:7
"Woe to the world because of the things that cause people to sin! Such things must come, but woe to the man through whom they come!

Don't let them come from you. I believe that God would much rather have you go Between the trees. Sure it takes longer. But then you'd be focusing on God. Realizing that you are going the longer route because its Gods way. His is a way that seems strange to the world. It's so hard to follow that many of us decide to just settle for the status quo. We were warned that it is a "straight and narrow road" we are to follow.

What if we reimagined what we were doing. Reshaped our lives to be condusive to the spirit and to live as God would have us live. What would that look like? What if i told you that there are more important things than money. than having a spouce. than being efficient. What if i said that there was a time when you didn't need a college degree just to survive?

How often do we let the world shape us instead of living how our God created us? To live uninhibited. to grow freely in the spirit. So mabey its time to relocate the road. make a new road. or even get rid of the road all together. so that we can let the tree grow.

My prayer is that we can all see the habits of this world that close our hearts to God so that we can change. not just our habits but our hearts. So that we can grow fully to be just as beautiful and full as our God created us to be. Nothing less.