January 20, 2006

Part 3 of 3

Please note:  This concludes an account of our human tendency to rebel against God’s loving-kindness.  I hope that it vividly paints for us the faithfulness of God which is best seen in the person of Jesus Christ.  While one may find parallels between this and some real-life situations, the characters described in this are completely fictional.

Numbly staring at Charla’s lifeless form, Mel and Lydia couldn’t speak or cry, and could hardly even breathe.  Accompanied by their pastor, they went home to a house that suddenly seemed somehow less a home to them.  That afternoon, Mel looked out his window with eyes that had run out of tears and noticed that the apple tree had lost the last of its leaves, even though it was still midsummer.

The funeral was indeed difficult, but it brought tremendous comfort to the both of them.  They remembered that God is faithful no matter what our circumstances may suggest and praised and thanked God even through the loss of their daughter, knowing that their Father in heaven knows well the agonizing loss of a Child.  Several weeks later, Mel cut down the apple tree that had died from the fireblight that had so mercilessly beset the once lovely apple tree and then burned its wood.  He did, however, leave the stump in the ground, not quite able to say goodbye to it entirely or forget the promise it once held for him.

Now, twenty-five years later, Mel stood beside the same old apple tree stump.  He smiled warmly as he gazed down at it.  From out of the tangle of all the old and rotten roots that had once belonged to Charla’s apple tree, a shoot had sprung up and had put forth the leaves of a new apple tree.  He didn’t know how it was possible, if the long dormant roots had somehow mustered up enough to finally allow a shoot to sprout and grow, or if someone, unbeknownst to Mel, had perhaps secretly planted an apple seed there in honor of Charla.

Whatever the case, it seemed that God had a plan yet for that old tree stump.  Mel’s fully grown grandson, Isaac, stepped up beside him and laid his hand on the old man’s back.  Isaac had just finished graduate school and was now a devout follower of Jesus, in love with God, eager to serve Him, and characterized by his own beautiful relationship with the Lord.  He and his fiancée were planning to be married in less than a year.

“Yes, God is faithful,” Mel mused to himself as he considered how blessed he and Lydia were through Isaac.  And even though the road that he, Lydia, Isaac, and Charla had traveled had been filled with pain and had threatened to swallow up all hope and joy forever, God had brought them through it and had demonstrated His eternal faithfulness… a faithfulness that nothing on earth can conquer.

And so it is with Christ Jesus.  Although humanity has collectively departed from God, still God is faithful to the human race.  It is true that He will often allow pain, loss, and suffering to enter our lives, but He will not forget those who love Him and have a place in His plan (see Romans 8:28).  Over two millennia ago, all hope and joy seemed lost to the human race for all time, and the shroud of sin and death ready to completely smother our world, yet God did not forget us.  He did not forget His promise to save us if we’ll receive His gift of eternal life and eternal hope.  He sent a Savior.  He sent His own Son so that justice could be realized but then raised His Son from death so that His justice could also be vindicated.

So, even when our hopes and dreams seemed consumed and they blow away like ashes in the wind, there is hope and the promise of new life in the hand of God.  Kept in His larder for those who will trust and obey Him is the food of renewal and victory.  From the wellspring of His everlasting faithfulness is the refreshing and cleansing water of fellowship with Him.  May you heed His promises and allow Him to renew your hope as you turn from your own way and, taking His hand, follow His.

“A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from His roots a Branch will bear fruit.  The Spirit of the LORD will rest on Him – the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and power, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD….  In that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples; the nations will rally to Him, and His place of rest will be glorious” (Isaiah 11:1-3a, 10 NIV).

(Thom Mollohan and his family have ministered in southern Ohio the past ten and a half years.  He is the pastor of Pathway Community Church.   For comments or questions, he may be reached by email at pastorthom@pathwaygallipolis.com).