What do you see when you look at this picture? It looks like pretty fall colors on the trees, doesn't it? It appears that these pretty colors on the leaves are the true colors....the colors they are supposed to be in the fall, but they are not. Yes, the trees might turn colors in the fall, but in our area they shouldn't have been turned when this photo was taken on October 1st.
This summer, during the worst drought and extreme high heat our area had seen in a very long time, we had a lot of wild fires. Many of the fires rapidly spread over hundreds or even thousands of acres in some areas. The fires damaged the trees, as did the drought.
Now here's another picture, just a little bit further down the road. What do you see now? Burned tree trunks, branches, and leaves. This picture shows the destruction from the fire. There are many scenes like this in our area and in the areas around us. Those aren't the leaves' true colors, either.
My mom was an elementary school teacher until she retired several years ago. One of the things I remember her telling me that she learned from teaching one of her science classes, was that a trees' true colors are what they turn to in the fall. They bud in the spring and spend all of the months in between growing and growing.....then, in the fall, they turn to those true colors.
Hmmmmm.......I wonder......What are my true colors? What are yours?
Our true colors are revealed when we go through 'fire'. This 'fire' comes in many forms in our lives. When troubles come our way. When things don't go our way. When we're in a hurry. When we're tired. When we're alone. When we're stressed. We could go on and on.
Do we, like the trees in the first picture, look beautiful - even in the 'fire'? Or, do we, like the trees in the second picture, look like the 'fire' is getting the best of us?
The photos I took was from a fire that was burning at the Quartz Mountain State Park in late July. It was threatening Bible camps and homes, but the firemen came in and saved everything. Thankfully, no structures were destroyed. What a tremendous job those firemen had during that fire!
When 'fires' come into our lives, they can destroy us if we just try to fight the fires on our own. But, there is One who will save us from the fires of life. God is ready and able to put out those fires! He will keep the fires from destroying us. Will they damage us? Perhaps they will....for a little while. But God can restore us. He can help us get through the pain. He can heal us from the damage we receive in the fires.
How we, as Christians, respond to the fires in life, shows the world our true colors. When our true colors are revealed, we should look like Jesus Christ, Our Savior.
When you pass through the waters,
I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers,
they will not sweep over you.
When you walk through the fire,
you will not be burned;
the flames will not set you ablaze.
Isaiah 43:2
