Dead Wood

---

A number of seasons ago while visiting a family member I noticed a large dead tree at the edge of the property between a storage unit and their children’s outdoor play ground swing set. As I was concerned about the children’s safety, I inquired if there was a plan to remove the dead tree. I was assured that it was on the agenda. A year passed. Two years. Three years. Four years. Five years….then a great wind storm came and split the tree and it fell on the storage shed and the swing set. Gratefully no one was injured. Five years of YeHoVaH's extreme grace in exchange for five years of beyond belief procrastination. Sooner or later the “dead wood” in our lives brings calamity, harm, devastation, destruction, trauma and/or unnecessary expenses to our lives.

​Dead wood in our lives may be symbolic of useless encumbrances such as unhealthy relationships, unfinished projects, things we were planning to accomplish…but…
​
Dead wood inevitably becomes more expensive the longer it is ignored. The only way to remove the “dead wood” out of our lives is to do what JESUS did: FOLLOW GOD! Jesus Christ of Nazareth never had any “dead wood” in HIS life for one reason: HE FOLLOWED GOD EXPLICITLY!
​
But then again…perhaps inviting the wind of the Holy Spirit to come and remove the dead wood from our lives is also a reasonable possibility. ​

---

“Therefore Jesus answered and was saying to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, unless it is something He sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, these things the Son also does in like manner. For the Father loves the Son, and shows Him all things that He Himself is doing; and the Father will show Him greater works than these,
​so that you will marvel” (John 5:19,20, NASB).

---