Like A Tree
I wonder about the impact I’m making on the people around me.
My pride, my selfish tendencies, and other sinful patterns scare me. Though I feel secure in my relationship with God through Christ, I fear how my ongoing sin may negatively impact and resonate in the lives around me.
Have you heard of Achan?
You’ll find his story in Joshua 7.
In short, Achan disobeyed God. He took something he shouldn’t have and buried it underneath his tent.
He might as well have buried a bomb.
That sinful act had rippling consequences throughout the community of Israel. Achan’s family died, and the whole community of Israel suffered loss due to Achan’s disobedience.
We are tempted to believe the lie that our sin won’t hurt anyone, but the truth is that the consequences of sin have never been self-contained.
God is warning us when He tells us that “The wages of sin is death…” - Romans 6:23
Death of hopes, families, dreams, opportunities, relationships, and even lives.
My life has the potential to be a blessing or a curse to those around me. For me, this is a scary and sobering thought.
And it’s one that I think about often now that I have a family. My many ongoing failures in marriage and parenting are disheartening and concerning. There are many days when I’m begging the Lord (for the sake of my wife and kids) to redeem my foolishness and help me to deny myself, take up my cross, and follow Him.
This is one of the reasons why I’m comforted by Psalm 1.
As we delight ourselves in Christ, we are told that we will be planted and yield fruit in season.
Ray Ortlund says this about Psalm 1, “delight determines destiny.”
I love that quote because being a tree is the destiny I desire. And not just any tree; I want to be a fruit-bearing tree.
If you notice, trees don’t bear fruit for their own sake but for the sake of all the creatures who benefit from it. Their fruit provides nourishment and strength, and their leaves provide shade and comfort from the harsher elements in the world.
I want to leave a legacy of blessing.
The Lord knows this, and He cares about it. He knows the dangers that would keep me from being a blessing. And He knows how to lead me forward.
I’m betting that you want to be a blessing too.
I’m not an expert, but I thought I’d share two quick things that help me lean into being a blessing.
1. Repentance and confession.
“Confess your sins to one another that you may be healed.”
The truth is, we will sin, and we will sin against each other.
But healing happens when we get honest. Sometimes I think of repentance and confession as a kind of antidote. Sin can make a disaster of our lives, but being honest about the wrong we’ve done and acknowledging how it has hurt those around us helps heal the wounds we’ve caused. It might not fix everything, but in my experience, it always helps.
Like Adam and Achan, we want to hide and bury our sins. But hiding, denying, and not confessing sin makes the wounds worse.
2. Delight in the Lord
I have a tape in my head replaying my worst moments, but anxiously worrying over past sins doesn’t help anyone. In Christ, I’m not defined by my sin or my past. God redefined me and made me new.
Instead of fretting over my sin, I’ve found that it’s helpful to delight in the Lord instead. To remind myself of the Gospel, God’s love for me, and the hope and future that He has secured for me.
“I sought the Lord, and he answered me
and delivered me from all my fears.
Those who look to him are radiant,
and their faces shall never be ashamed.”
Focusing on myself doesn’t make me radiant. I often have to force myself to stop worrying about myself and try to look to the Lord. Things like reading God’s Word, conversations with my wife and friends, prayer, and listening to music, podcasts, or sermons help shift my focus to delighting in the Lord.
I’ve found that worrying over myself isn’t a blessing to those around me. It puts me in a place of needing things from the people around me that they can’t give.
When I bring my need to the Lord and seek to delight in Him, more often than not, I go from needy to full and overflowing. This puts me in a better place to love and bless those around me.
I don’t do any of this perfectly. It feels hypocritical to write about it because I know how much I need what I’m sharing with you.
This is just my ramblings as I’m learning to walk in a way that is sobered by the seriousness of sin while also trusting that God can redeem and restore what is lost by sin.
