Grace Upon Grace With Sophie HudsonSample

DAY 4

One of my favorite things in life is to go walking at a park by our house. A month or so ago I had just reached the top of the first big hill on my favorite part of the trail when I noticed the very strong scent of pine. Initially, I couldn’t figure out where it was coming from, but just around the curve, I spotted a giant pine tree that must have been chopped down the day before, and that part of the trail basically smelled like a Christmas tree farm. 

In the days that followed, however, I realized that the scent of that gorgeous pine tree was becoming fainter and fainter. The longer it was disconnected from its life source—its roots and the soil that surrounded them—the less distinctive its scent. One day I even walked right up to the logs, leaned over, and sniffed as hard as I could. The pine aroma was discernible, but barely; the fallen tree mostly just smelled like the rest of the park.

The same thing happens with us. When we’re staying closely connected to the Lord through Scripture, prayer, and the power of the Holy Spirit, we carry His presence—His fragrance—everywhere we go. But when we allow ourselves to move away from the Source of our strength, our purpose, and our hope, we start to lose our distinctiveness. Our spiritual aroma, as it were, starts to fade, and over time it blends in with the world around us.

The good news, however, is that, as people who believe in God and agree with Him that Jesus is the atonement for our sins, we don’t have to suffer the same fate as that big ole pine tree. Remember: the Lord is kind, and He is gracious. He wants us to be fully established and rooted and growing in Him. So when we admit to Him that we’ve been stubborn or shortsighted or prideful—when we get honest about desiring the abundant life that only comes from and through Him—He mercifully lets us superglue our roots right back onto the strong, living tree. Soon we’re smelling like pine (that is to say: Jesus!) again.

And by His grace, He won’t just keep us alive in Him; He will enable us to thrive in the places where He plants us.

What a wonderful gift from a wonderful God!