Our Newsletter
Our newsletter, "Cross Current" is published each Sunday.
Along with an up-to-date rundown of congregational activities, each edition features an interesting and challenging cover story that connects faith to real life.
Written by Rick Gamble, these articles are published the following week in the Brantford Expositor where Rick is the Religion and Ethics columnist.
To have these free, no-strings-attached articles delivered weekly to your mailbox, drop Rick a note at info@followers.ca
Our newsletter, "Cross Current" is published each Sunday.
Along with an up-to-date rundown of congregational activities, each edition features an interesting and challenging cover story that connects faith to real life.
Written by Rick Gamble, these articles are published the following week in the Brantford Expositor where Rick is the Religion and Ethics columnist.
To have these free, no-strings-attached articles delivered weekly to your mailbox, drop Rick a note at info@followers.ca
Colour Commentary
When the leaves change in the fall, they're actually showing their true colours.
It all comes down to photosynthesis which, in plain English, means “putting together with light”. All trees survive by putting together water and carbon dioxide with sunlight. Water is drawn by a tree's roots. Carbon dioxide is absorbed through tiny holes in its leaves and branches.
Sunlight is absorbed in the leaves by a chemical called chlorophyll. It absorbs red and blue light, which is why it looks green. Once the sunlight reacts with water and carbon dioxide, it makes sugars which act as plant food.
During this process, chlorophyl fills the leaves and turns them green, overwhelming the tree's natural pigments, like yellow and orange carotenoids which are also responsible for the colour of corn and carrots.
But in the fall, changes in temperature and the length of daylight signal the leaves to stop making food. The chlorophyl breaks down, the green colour fades, and the natural pigments dominate: orange in maples, deep brown in oaks, and reds in sumacs and dogwoods. The best colours come from lots of rainy, overcast days.
At the spot where the leaf is attached to the branch, a special layer of cells develops and gradually weakens the tissues that hold the leaf in place. When the leaf is blown off or falls from its own weight, the tree seals the spot, stopping sugars (food) from leaving the tree. A leaf scar is left behind.
Once a tree is leafless, it can’t make food. So it rests. The tree essentially sleeps until the water in its roots starts moving again in the spring. Then it puts out new leaves to start making food again. And since trees in the fall always reabsorb the molecules that make up chlorophyll, they can use those molecules each spring to produce more chlorophyll, without having to start from scratch.
Spiritual photosynthesis works the same way. In the Bible, Jesus is compared to Light. We survive by “putting together with Light” the two essentials of love and faith. “I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources, God will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit,” we're told. 'Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in Him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. Then you'll be complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.' (Eph. 3:16-20)
That's what spirituality is all about — having the fullness of life and power that comes from God. Once we experience God's love in a personal way that goes way beyond theory or mere theology, we can trust Him, which is the very definition of faith. Jesus, plus love, plus trust, equals a life of completeness and power.
But that can only happen when we're powered by the inner strength that comes from the Holy Spirit. So think of Him as chlorophyll. When we allow God to create in our hearts the sustenance we need, He overwhelms our human nature with the life-giving green of His goodness. Our inclination toward sin and self-centredness is still there, but forced to the background by the power of His influence upon us.
Even so, life is about seasons and constant renewal. There will always be times when we suppress the Spirit and stop producing the nourishment we need to thrive. That usually happens when our hearts grow colder and our exposure to the Light is lessened. Before long, we no longer draw on God's love, — and we withdraw our trust in Him. Gradually, a layer of sin and insensitivity begins to weaken the bond that holds us in place. That's when our true colours emerge. Only, in our case, it's not pretty.
Oh, it may seem dazzling for a while. Sin has always been pleasing to the eye. But when tempted to see our independence from God as a beautiful thing, we should remember the vivid colours of the fall are a sign of coming death. And so it is with the Fall. At the very least, letting go of God throws us into spiritual dormancy.
But thanks to His grace and forgiveness, the potential for renewal is always there. Nothing we do can separate us from His love, as tPaul says in Romans 8:38. Nothing, no matter how horrendous. And from the scar left when we last relinquished our love and trust, new growth emerges. The good news is, the residue of our former growth is still there and — through the power of the Spirit — we can use it to begin again, without having to start from scratch. Failure never means all the gains we made in the past are gone for good. Instead, God helps us use our failure in the past to make gains, for good.
Aren't you glad we don't all change colour and die at once? We take turns, and that's why God put us in churches to begin with, to love and support each other through the dry times. But one day we'll be with God in a place prepared for His people. In a poetic picture of eternal life and wholeness, Revelation says heaven will have two trees of life that will never drop their leaves but bear 12 crops of fruit — one a month. Their leaves will be used to heal the nations, and we will see God's very face (Rev. 22:1-4)
Until then, hold on.
By Rick Gamble. Reprint at will in not-for-profit publications. Originally published in Cross Current, the weekly newsletter of Followers of Christ, an independent, nondenominational church in Brantford, Ontario, Canada.
When the leaves change in the fall, they're actually showing their true colours.
It all comes down to photosynthesis which, in plain English, means “putting together with light”. All trees survive by putting together water and carbon dioxide with sunlight. Water is drawn by a tree's roots. Carbon dioxide is absorbed through tiny holes in its leaves and branches.
Sunlight is absorbed in the leaves by a chemical called chlorophyll. It absorbs red and blue light, which is why it looks green. Once the sunlight reacts with water and carbon dioxide, it makes sugars which act as plant food.
During this process, chlorophyl fills the leaves and turns them green, overwhelming the tree's natural pigments, like yellow and orange carotenoids which are also responsible for the colour of corn and carrots.
But in the fall, changes in temperature and the length of daylight signal the leaves to stop making food. The chlorophyl breaks down, the green colour fades, and the natural pigments dominate: orange in maples, deep brown in oaks, and reds in sumacs and dogwoods. The best colours come from lots of rainy, overcast days.
At the spot where the leaf is attached to the branch, a special layer of cells develops and gradually weakens the tissues that hold the leaf in place. When the leaf is blown off or falls from its own weight, the tree seals the spot, stopping sugars (food) from leaving the tree. A leaf scar is left behind.
Once a tree is leafless, it can’t make food. So it rests. The tree essentially sleeps until the water in its roots starts moving again in the spring. Then it puts out new leaves to start making food again. And since trees in the fall always reabsorb the molecules that make up chlorophyll, they can use those molecules each spring to produce more chlorophyll, without having to start from scratch.
Spiritual photosynthesis works the same way. In the Bible, Jesus is compared to Light. We survive by “putting together with Light” the two essentials of love and faith. “I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources, God will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit,” we're told. 'Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in Him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. Then you'll be complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.' (Eph. 3:16-20)
That's what spirituality is all about — having the fullness of life and power that comes from God. Once we experience God's love in a personal way that goes way beyond theory or mere theology, we can trust Him, which is the very definition of faith. Jesus, plus love, plus trust, equals a life of completeness and power.
But that can only happen when we're powered by the inner strength that comes from the Holy Spirit. So think of Him as chlorophyll. When we allow God to create in our hearts the sustenance we need, He overwhelms our human nature with the life-giving green of His goodness. Our inclination toward sin and self-centredness is still there, but forced to the background by the power of His influence upon us.
Even so, life is about seasons and constant renewal. There will always be times when we suppress the Spirit and stop producing the nourishment we need to thrive. That usually happens when our hearts grow colder and our exposure to the Light is lessened. Before long, we no longer draw on God's love, — and we withdraw our trust in Him. Gradually, a layer of sin and insensitivity begins to weaken the bond that holds us in place. That's when our true colours emerge. Only, in our case, it's not pretty.
Oh, it may seem dazzling for a while. Sin has always been pleasing to the eye. But when tempted to see our independence from God as a beautiful thing, we should remember the vivid colours of the fall are a sign of coming death. And so it is with the Fall. At the very least, letting go of God throws us into spiritual dormancy.
But thanks to His grace and forgiveness, the potential for renewal is always there. Nothing we do can separate us from His love, as tPaul says in Romans 8:38. Nothing, no matter how horrendous. And from the scar left when we last relinquished our love and trust, new growth emerges. The good news is, the residue of our former growth is still there and — through the power of the Spirit — we can use it to begin again, without having to start from scratch. Failure never means all the gains we made in the past are gone for good. Instead, God helps us use our failure in the past to make gains, for good.
Aren't you glad we don't all change colour and die at once? We take turns, and that's why God put us in churches to begin with, to love and support each other through the dry times. But one day we'll be with God in a place prepared for His people. In a poetic picture of eternal life and wholeness, Revelation says heaven will have two trees of life that will never drop their leaves but bear 12 crops of fruit — one a month. Their leaves will be used to heal the nations, and we will see God's very face (Rev. 22:1-4)
Until then, hold on.
By Rick Gamble. Reprint at will in not-for-profit publications. Originally published in Cross Current, the weekly newsletter of Followers of Christ, an independent, nondenominational church in Brantford, Ontario, Canada.
