Some of you may have heard we had some tree work done.  And by tree work, I mean we paid a tree company an obscene amount of money (I told a friend, and he said that the amount, "Sounds completely reasonable for highway robbery") to cut down a tree before it fell of its own volition onto our neighbor's fence.  It was not one of my favorite moments of the year.

  When I got to exploring (by exploring, I mean cutting & splitting) this tree, I noticed one obvious fact--it was empty on the inside.  Hollow as can be.  Termites had devoured this tree, starting at the bottom, and creating a cavity that went nine feet up from the stump.  From there, there was another ten feet of mushy pulp filling the middle of the tree.  Termites had destroyed it.

  But you would never have known from the outside.  It had every appearance (to me, a tree layman) of a healthy, vibrant, growing red oak tree.

  I can't shake the image.  It reminds me of my own faith, sometimes.  On the outside, I might appear healthy, vibrant and growing.  But on the inside, I forget to pray, leave my Bible to collect dust, and find new and various ways to sin and deny God each day.  I'm often struggling just to maintain where I am, forgetting about the need to grow, getting caught up in the day-to-day busy-ness that so often prevents me from investing in my spiritual life.  I have this hollow spot inside into which I'm trying to dump things, rather than to let the Holy Spirit work to fill that with God's heart.  And when the storms come, and the winds blow, will I buckle like my tree?  I will if God's not the strength within.

  So what to do?  I know the termites & sin are happy to continue to feed upon my core, but I also know that my God is stronger than any opponent in this world.  I know that God uses each of us to serve his purpose & his kingdom--am I willing to let go, to give up, to submit to God's will?

  Or will I keep struggling in my own futile battle?

 Luke 6:46-9:  "Why do you call me 'Lord, Lord,' and do not do what I tell you?  I will show you what someone is like who comes to me, hears my words, and acts on them.  That one is like a man building a house, who dug deeply and laid the foundation on rock; when a flood arose, the river burst against that house but could not shake it, because it had been well built.  But the one who hears and does not act is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the river burst against it, immediately it fell, and great was the ruin of that house."