It’s the time of year when everything bursts alive with color –– shrubs and bushes and trees. It seems like the colors exploded right after Easter. The earth is reminding us that Jesus died and rose again to bring new life to everything ––and to everyone who believes. Our backyards are vibrantly alive. But Stayin’ Alive can be a problem.
Stayin’ Alive is the goal for every living thing. Looking at the colorful beauty of life, I began wondering if our hearts look as lush and colorfully alive to our Savior as the earth in springtime? How do believers stay wildly alive and vibrant on the inside? And what happens if we do not?
About twenty years ago a fierce hurricane-like storm ripped through our area (we’re two hours from the beach). Many trees snapped in half. Tall slender pines were bowing overtop the community streets. It looked like a giant had tromped through and destroyed our beautiful springtime. The carnage was way too much for homeowners to handle, or for county services to respond in a timely way. Their solution – Homeowners were to pile all the broken pieces of trees and shrubs at the end of their driveway. The county promised to get to them as soon as possible.
There were piles along the community streets everywhere reaching 10 feet into the air. It was actually beautiful driving through at first. Huge blossoms of color, especially azaleas, and a dozen different shades of green lined all the streets. It felt tropical.
But in truth, all those colorful blossoms were disconnected from life and were actually dead branches. The vibrant colors wouldn’t last. As the days went by, the mounds of greenery shrunk down, down, and the colors faded. Stayin’ Alive wasn’t happening. By the end of the week, all beauty was gone. The green was gone. The color was gone. It was apparent now that everyone had dead branches shriveling daily at their driveway.
I remember being amazed at how quickly it happened, how stark the difference, and how ugly it all became. Why were those branches having trouble Stayin’ Alive? Because they were not connected to the source of life. In their case, it was the trunk of the tree. They were separated from their life source. It was vividly clear for all to see––a Bible lesson in pictures.
Jesus taught us that’s what happens when the life connection is broken (John 15:5). That same principle applies to our spiritual life. In simplest terms, Jesus is the life source (the tree trunk) and we are the branches. When we are not plugged into His life source, we too shrivel up. We die on the inside. It may not be as obvious as a dying purple azalea branch, but the inside story is the same.
Jesus sees the inside. He sees the heart. What an effective lesson we could teach our grandchildren–– When Jesus looks inside the people of earth, do His holy eyes see lush fruitful colors of life in the hearts of believers and piles of shriveled dead sticks in the hearts of the lost?
We must teach little ones that Stayin’ Alive spiritually is only possible when we are connected to Jesus. We are vines stuck tightly to Jesus, the tree trunk! Then we share His life, His strength, His power, and His goodness.
It’s a simple message the world needs to know. Invite Jesus into your heart. Draw deeply of His life, goodness, and strength every moment of every day. Then you too will be Stayin’ Alive.