Year after year, there seems to be a recurring theme of intense spiritual trials and separation within the body of Messiah. It comes in many forms: doctrinal differences, interpersonal drama, and sometimes the heartbreaking dissolution of faith itself. However it arrives, it never becomes easier to face… yet the falling away is prophesied to come.

Seeds are planted and take root, each growing into a different kind of plant. Every seed can endure a certain level of suffering before withering. Some look big and strong for a time, yet their roots are shallow and cannot withstand pressure. Others sprout only to be eaten as soon as they begin to bear fruit. Some grow tall but produce fruit that is sour and filled with rot.

Even the mighty oaks of the forest lose their leaves each year. Still, not everything that is planted is destined to fade. Some remain like the evergreen trees with roots that reach deeply into the earth and leaves that do not wither. These trees stay nourished by living water even through the cold, dark winter. They stand firm when the weight of ice and snow bears down. They bow, but they do not break. The evergreen does not shrink back from adversity, but continues to persevere.

The seeds planted in our hearts need the same care. The Word is our living water. The Son is like the sunlight, steady and present no matter how cold life may feel. Keeping our roots healthy means guarding against the parasites and mold that creep in through impure thoughts and actions and unclean things.

If we find ourselves in a season of “losing our leaves”, that season is not permanent. Spring will come again. The Master Gardener can treat and restore any life that is willing. But we should not simply wait for that day. We must nourish ourselves now by meditating on the living water day and night, so that we may be found and called trees of righteousness.

“Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the Torah of YHWH; and in his Torah doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.”
-Psalm 1:1-3 KJV

 “And he spake many things unto them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went forth to sow; And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up. Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth: And when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away. And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung up, and choked them: But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold.
-Matthew 13:3-8 KJV