Radiant

I’m not a big fan of autumn. But I discovered something this week that I hope will stick in my mind every time the leaves fall.

Personally, I prefer summer. Soaking up rays poolside, sunset strolls on a sandy beach, and absolutely every food barbecued are my favourite things.

Fall, on the other hand, has only three redeeming qualities.

• Shipping the kids off to school.
• Enjoying magnificent autumn colours.
• Remembering every day is one day closer to next summer.

I’ve wondered if God gave Canadians the gift of beautiful trees as sort of a consolation prize: “Sorry summer is over and dreadful winter is on its way; perhaps this will numb the pain.”

It turns out there is some interesting science behind the changing of the leaves. I recently learned that those exquisite fall colours have been hanging out in the leaves all along. (Who knew?) These brilliant hues are concealed within the leaf by green chlorophyll. As the weather cools and the days grow shorter, the tree breaks up the chlorophyll in the leaf, sending the nutrients to the root. As it breaks up, the green gives way to the brilliant yellows, vibrant oranges, and blazing reds hiding beneath.

Maybe this is an interesting picture of us.

Even though I’m a Jesus girl and His Spirit lives in me, I’m also masked on the outside by my own “greenness.” Parts of me are fighting tooth and nail with old habits, like surging pride and weak-kneed faith.

God is changing me bit by bit. Praise the Lord! I want my true colours to be visible. I want to be radiant, don’t you?

This doesn’t happen overnight. And it’s terribly painful. Our old nature is stuck like sticky pine sap. And at times it appears I’m a solid green leaf with no autumn colour in sight.

But what God says is true. We (His girls) reflect God’s glory as He is transforming us into His likeness. Can you even imagine? Second Corinthians proclaims this astounding promise: “And when God is personally present, a living Spirit, that old, constricting legislation is recognized as obsolete. We’re free of it! All of us! Nothing between us and God, our faces shining with the brightness of his face. And so we are transfigured much like the Messiah, our lives gradually becoming brighter and more beautiful as God enters our lives and we become like him” (3:17–18, MSG).

Listen, Sister: Let’s pray that God will reveal His new life in us, that He will grow us and change us and make us more and more like Him. Let’s trust the old pieces will shrivel up and die to make way, bit by bit and day by day, for the glorious, radiant Spirit to shine through us.

Girlfriend, I hope you are encouraged today. Subscribe now and receive more encouragement, occasionally, right in your inbox. And be sure to check out Listen, Sister! Finding Hope in the Freakshow of Life! available everywhere books are sold.