March 26, 2010

Exodus 37--no comment

March 26 Luke 3
I spent a good portion of my life growing up in trees. Maybe I am a good argument for evolution. When I was in grade school, our house had a huge Elm tree in the front yard. My oldest brother put a thick rope in it. We could swing out way over the street and back. It was a blast. Our side yard had an oak tree. I loved jumping from limb to limb pretending I was Tarzan. We lived in a small town. So within just a couple of minutes of walking I could be in a woods full of elms, oaks, hickories, pecans, walnuts, cottonwood etc. In my memory they were huge. We built several tree houses in the woods. Generally, I stayed out of fruit trees. They didn’t make very good trees for climbing unless you were trying to steal an apple or a pear. With the exception of some apple trees, most fruit trees are too little to provide good shade. They are usually not large enough for building a tree house. Other than just appearance, fruit trees without fruit usually provide very little functionality.
If anyone ever saw the light of the glory of Jesus, it would have to be John. The Spirit of the Lord had communicated so clearly to him through the word concerning Jesus that he could see what was coming. He described the Lord in such terms that even Roman soldiers were converting and preparing for the coming One. Compared to the Messiah we are none better than a brood of vipers, a fruit tree that never bears fruit. What good is a fruit tree that never bears fruit? None. You can’t build a house in it. It isn’t worth climbing in. What good are we compared to Him, none. Ever seen furniture built of fig wood, pear wood, apple wood, plum wood, coconut wood? Probably not. It is usually not worth the trouble. It is better to just throw it in the fire. Compared to the glory of Jesus we are fruitless fruit trees.
But the picture John paints of the glory of Jesus is that He is our salvation. When He comes, He changes our fruitlessness into fruit. John then switches metaphors. When Jesus comes He makes us like wheat. He takes the chaff and waste of our lives and burns it in unquenchable fire. He takes a kernel of grain and makes us valuable and useful in making the bread of life. That is the beauty of His glory. We are nothing compared to Him. We are wonderfully valuable with Him. Seeing that is what motivated even callous Roman soldiers to convert. Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today! I think I’ll go climb a tree.
--Pastor John