Leaves and Light

“When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world.” John 8:12

Yesterday, the fall equinox arrived at 10:21 am. In a few weeks we will begin to notice the transformation of the leaves color throughout Western New York.

 As you may be aware of, trees create their own food. They take water from the ground through their roots and take gas called carbon dioxide from the air. They turn that water and carbon dioxide into food for the health of the tree and life sustaining oxygen for us.

The way trees turn water and carbon dioxide into oxygen and sugar is called photosynthesis. Photosynthesis is another way of saying, “putting together with light.” It is with the chemical called chlorophyll that helps the process of photosynthesis happen. Chlorophyll is what makes the leaves green in the spring and summer. We know a tree is healthy when we see its leaves of green.

When the shortness of light begins to occur during the autumn season it triggers the trees to stop making food, and when this happens the chlorophyll in the leaves disappears exposing to us the brilliant colors of yellows, oranges, and reds. However after a short time these leaves will eventually die and decay. It is nature’s way of preparing for the winter.

So how might any of this science lesson apply to the verse above? We like trees remain healthy spiritually if we remain in the light of Christ. It is as I quoted above, “putting together with light,” God’s light, through prayer and the inspiration of the Bible that maintains our spiritual health. It is when we chose to move out on our own and away from God that we will begin to see in our own lives the spiritual decay without the light of God.

John said, “This is the message we heard from Jesus and now declare to you: God is light, and there is no darkness in him at all. So we are lying if we say we have fellowship with God but go on living in spiritual darkness; we are not practicing the truth. But if we are living in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin” (1 John 1:5-7).

Are you walking in the light of God? Are your spiritual leaves remaining nourished? Stay in God’s light for this is the only source of true life that will keep us rejuvenated.