Who God meant me to be

photos by: Bruce Nevin Haines

And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.     (Romans 12:2)

It’s that time of the year, when sleepy fires crackle in the Fire pit, where the nights grow longer and cooler; where everywhere I go, I am reminded of one of the greatest truths for the Follower  of Christ.

Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.  (John 12:24)

There was a time in my  life where I truly did not understand that to live is Christ and to die to myself, is to truly Live.  But the Trees of Autumn teach us this timeless truth in a very tangible way.  The Glorious Colors that we see every Fall, are the actual, natural colors of the leaves.  Covered over every Summer by the production of Chlorophyll, all tree leaves conform to very similar colors of Green.  But as the days shorten and the temperatures cool, the Chlorophyll production slows, then stops altogether.  When this occurs, the green color leaves and the Autumn leaves become their actual, natural colors again.

We, as followers of Christ, learn to slowly die to our own wills, the green of our own ideas, sins and rebellions begin to fade; and we begin to become our actual selves.  We become exactly who God envisioned us to be before the Foundation of the Word.  We become the one He called forth from the womb of our mothers for a very specific purpose.  No two leaves are exactly the same color, even as no two people are.

To live truly is Christ, but to truly live, we must learn to die to ourselves.  So as you look around at the Glorious Autumn Splendor, ask God where you still need to die to yourself, and surrender to His Sovereign Care.  You will become one of His greatest works of Beauty, as you yield and die to who you think you are, and trust Him to transform you into who He envisioned you to be from the beginning of Time.  Trust Yourself to Him.