A LESSON FROM THE LEAVES 

Fall is an appropriate name for this time of the year. Leaves fall all around. Leaves blow everywhere and are getting on and into everything. Leaves are piling up. But, before dismissing leaves as only irritants, there’s a lesson we can learn.

Driving around Lubbock over the last couple of weeks has reminded me of the beauty of this time of year. Especially eye-catching is the color of the changing leaves. Brilliant red, yellow, and orange leaves contrast with green ones, all on a background of a bright blue sky. The changing color of the leaves reflects the beautiful natural tapestry that God has woven into our wonderful world. This time of year can be amazingly picturesque. Even more amazing to me, though, is that scientists say that the colors we see during the fall are always present in those leaves! It is the chlorophyll that gives the leaves their color. But, the green color is so dominant during the spring and summer months that we never see the other colors! 

That made me wonder, can people also be like that? Do people hide their multi-faceted inner selves with a one-dimensional outer self or do they let others see the many beautiful colors of their lives? Do we allow others to see that God has blessed us not only in our public lives, but our private lives as well? Whatever blessings God has given to us, too often we fail to let others see the multidimensional goodness in our lives and its benevolent source. 

The truth is that God not only fashioned the plants and their leaves (Genesis 1:11-12), He also created man in His majestic image. (Genesis 1:26-27) Unfortunately, instead of reflecting this colorful majesty all men “have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). But, if we obediently trust God to wash away our sins through the sacrifice of Christ then we will be able to “appear as lights in the world, holding fast the word of life” (Philippians 2:15). It is this same “word of life” in the New Testament that allows us to see the “glory of the Lord” and then to be “transformed into the same image” (2 Corinthians 3:18). Unlike the leaves that don’t have a choice, men can reflect more than just a one-dimensional beauty!

                                   Ronaldo Ricardo Guzmán