Psalms 1:1-3 – one of my fave verses/promises. One seemingly innocuous statement in there that got me thinking recently with a friend is what could it mean for our leaves not to wither?
- Since the fruit comes in its season, we settled this on the Ecclesiastes 7:14 verse which says “enjoy prosperity while you can, but when hard times strike, realize that both come from God and nothing is certain in this life”. God himself said there is a time for everything under the sun (e.g. riches, good health, children, houses, jobs etc.) We initially thought the ‘fruits’ in Psalms 1 could be referring to the fruits of the spirit but agreed that it couldn’t be as they’re not seasonal!
- But what does it mean for your leaf not to wither then? We said considering that not all trees produce fruits, we may not always be able to define a tree by its fruit. But since most trees have leaves, perhaps we could often define or know a tree type by its leaves. In other words, our leaves define us.
- So the question is what defines us? Are we defined by what the world says about us, in prosperous times and naught, when there’s fruits and without? Are we defined by our past sins and the devil’s raging efforts to make us feel inadequate or unloved by God? Or are we defined by what God has said about us?