by Jean Roesler

My husband and I recently went to Massachusetts to visit his sister and her husband. Going outside to their backyard we noted that something was different from our last visit. “You’ve taken down some trees,” I said. My sister-in-law went on to explain how her husband had started with a few the previous year, but had just a few weeks prior taken the rest of the pine trees down. We commented that the area was so open now and that their lot looked so much bigger. They responded that for the first time in years they actually saw the sun in their backyard.

As we continued to talk about the trees, my brother-in-law told us that when the garage was added on to the house by previous owners, tree roots were in the way of the garage footing. Instead of removing the tree, the owners decided to simply cut the tree roots leaving the tree itself abutting the garage. When my in-laws moved in and noticed the close proximity of the tree to the garage they consulted a landscaper about possibly removing the tree. The landscaper simply said, “The tree is dead, it just doesn’t know it yet.”

I have learned from Roselyn that statements made by others can have a spiritual lesson, even though that was not the original intent.

The tree is dead, it just doesn’t know it yet. Are there people we know with this same condition? They are living lives without a relationship with Jesus. They may think their lives are full and rich; but are they dead, and just don’t know it yet?