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By Marcia
Lee Laycock
There's a commercial that has
just appeared on T.V. in time for Christmas.
A dad drags a nice
looking Christmas tree into his living room and sets it
up in
front of his two kids, who are watching with arms loaded with
decorations. They smile as the tree is set straight in its
holder. But
then the dad reaches for a pruning tool. He proceeds
to trim the entire
bottom half of the tree, leaving only a foot
or so of greenery. The look
on the children's faces turns from
joy and anticipation to shock and
dismay. The little boy looks
like he's about to burst into tears, but the
father does not
give any explanation. In fact, he doesn't even acknowledge
the
children's presence. He simply walks away.
Then
the scene shifts to Christmas morning. The kids lean over a banister
and stare down in wonder. The living room is full of wrapped
gifts, piled
right up to the edge of that last foot left on the
top of the tree. They
bound down and dance for joy in front of
it.
Sometimes God acts just like that father,
and we act just like those
children. Sometimes God has to prune
things from our lives. It may be
painful and seem even cruel. It
may leave us in shock and dismay, because
God does not always
explain Himself.
That's when having a
relationship with God stands us in good stead. When
we know the
God who is at work in our lives, we will trust Him to do what
is
right and best for us, even when there is pain and loss involved,
even
when we are bewildered and in dismay.
Then, one day, we will recognize that we have been
showered with gifts -
the gifts of faith and forgiveness, of
grace and mercy and the most
precious gift of all -
salvation.
All of us must go through times of
pruning. But when we know the child who came to earth so long ago,
we know that He has the best plan laid out for
us. As He said to
the people in the days of Jeremiah - "For I know the
plans I
have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to
harm you, plans give you hope and a future. Then you will call
upon me and
come and pray to me and I will listen to you. You
will seek me and find me
when you seek me with all your heart"
(Jeremiah 29:11-13).
We may suffer the pruning, but, by
faith, one day we will dance for joy
before the
Lord.
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