OLD GROWTH
Ephesians 4:22-24
to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, 23 and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, 24 and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.
Recently I was driving down the highway near home and I saw a semi truck loaded up with Christmas trees. It made me think of my friend Bill. Bill raises balsam fir, scotch pine and other species for Christmas trees, wreaths, garland and other products. I was amazed to learn that there are almost 30 million Christmas trees sold every year as well as millions of wreaths (Wisconsin alone produces over 600,000 wreaths each year) and other products made from evergreen boughs. Bill's operation alone harvests 50-100 tons of evergreen boughs every year. Think about that... 100 TONS of evergreen boughs, that's about 20 semi trailers full of boughs, all harvested in 3 weeks, each year.
Most Christmas tree farms plant trees and then harvest them after 10 years or so. Bill doesn't do it that way, he prunes and works naturally growing trees to produce what he needs. In the middle of big patches of balsam he will cut out trees to have the boughs removed for wreaths. He has an eye for this and is probably the best at his craft. His land continues to produce year after year without having to replant.
The only way for this system to work is to remove the old trees that are not producing enough anymore. This allows new strong, young and healthy growth to get sunlight and nutrients they need to grow. The same is true of our lives. If we don't remove all of the things that drain us, we can never allow the new growth to produce what we need. Eventually, like the trees, all of our old growth becomes useless.
We need to get rid of our old way of living, our sinful patterns that keeps us from growing and producing.
2 Corinthians 5:17
"Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new".
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