Daily Devotional for May 22, 2020
Poison Ivy Tree
“How’s the wood chopping going?” Kara’s mom asked as she set the lunch plates on the table.
“It’s going well,” Dad replied. “I found several dead trees that were ready to come down.”
After the family thanked God for their meal and began to pass the food, Dad chuckled and said, “You know, I spent all morning avoiding a tree I thought was alive because it was full of green leaves. It wasn’t until I stepped back and looked up that I realized it was a dead tree that was completely covered in poison ivy vines!”
“That sounds like how people can be sometimes,” said Mom.
Dad nodded knowingly, but Kara looked confused. “What do you mean, Mom?”
“Well, people can appear to be full of life—keeping busy, doing all the right things, making it look like their lives are in order—but spiritually be as dead as that tree. Just like the poison ivy tricked Dad, our good deeds can keep us from recognizing we have no relationship with the living God. It’s not until our hearts are transformed by Jesus and given life through the Holy Spirit that we begin to experience true life.”
Kara thought about how she acted one way at school and another way at church. She pretended to accept all that her parents and teachers at church taught her, but the truth was she cared more about what her friends thought than what God’s Word said. Maybe she was like that dead, poison ivy–covered tree.
After the lunch dishes were cleared and Dad had gone back to the woods, Kara sought out her mom for a conversation. “Mom,” she said, “I think I’m kind of like that tree.”
Mom listened quietly as Kara continued. “I do all the right things at church and act like I believe, but I think I need to make a decision to trust Jesus and not just pretend to. Can you help me?”
“I sure can, honey,” Mom replied as she reached for her Bible. “And I’m excited to think about how much joy you will have once His Spirit is living in you. You’ll discover that Jesus fills you with more life and hope than you could ever imagine.” KAREN MCMILLAN
How about you?
Do you have the true life only Jesus gives? Or, like Kara, have you been pretending to follow Jesus without really giving your heart to Him? Acting like a Christian does not make you one. Jesus is ready and willing to give you life through the power of His death and resurrection. Don’t wait any longer—trust in Him today. (To learn more, click the “Good News!” button in the right column of this page.)
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