If Jesus Had Lived In A Rain Forest...

If Jesus had lived in a rain forest the parable of the sower found in Luke 8 would have had a different twist.  I think he would have talked about the seeds of the Strangler Fig that were placed, by birds, in the crevices near the tops of other trees. The seeds would stretch to reach the sun that would never make its way to the floor of the forest due to the lush canopy overhead.  As they grew upward they would also send down roots on the outside of the host tree until eventually they would find the rich soil they needed to sustain a long and healthy life.

But there is more to this story than survival. As the Strangler Fig sends down its roots, they actually choke the life out of the host tree.  Eventually there is no trace of the original tree and all that remains are the columns of roots, completely hollow in the center, yet strong and tall and full of life.

As I saw these trees in the rain forest here in Australia I kept thinking of the lessons to be learned from the Strangler Fig.  At first I thought about how, when allowed to find a home within our lives, sin will easily take up residency and what seems so harmless in the beginning (just a tiny seed) becomes deadly, destroying our very soul. We have all seen it happen. I am seeing it in the lives of some families that attended Journey Church in the past, but have allowed sin to dominate their lives and are now nothing more than empty people living empty lives.












From another perspective I could see something beautiful happening. Something that I want so desperately in my own life.  Something Paul talked about.  I want to die to self and the desires of the flesh. I want to realize how insignificant I truly am. I want to decrease so that Christ might increase.  I want to let go of life so that I might be transformed into a new creation.  I want people to see Jesus alive and well and not be able to see Jackie at all.  What I have to offer alone is worthless, but when I am completely enveloped in His will I am strong, capable and ready to go where He wants me to go and be who He needs me to be.