Jesus told her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying. Everyone who lives in me and believes in me will never ever die. [John 11:25-26a (NLT)]
Several years ago, I would pass by an art gallery while on my morning walk. In the window was a large photograph of a forest showing dark tree trunks in the foreground and new grass on the forest floor. One day, I stopped to look at the picture more closely and realized that the black trees were actually the charred tree trunks resulting from a forest fire. This beautiful photograph was actually of a fire-devastated forest! The viewer’s eye, however, was directed to the new grass rather than to the dead trees. Called “Cycle of Fire,” the photo, rather than being depressing, was filled with hope for the new life sprouting up from the fire’s damage.
What really struck me was that a year earlier, while on a trip through South Dakota and Wyoming, we drove through several areas that had seen forest fires. My focus, however, had been on the devastation of the forests and I hadn’t even noticed the new grass and fresh growth. Until I gave “Cycle of Fire” a closer look, it never even occurred to me to see the new beginnings that can come from loss. When I looked at my old photos, however, the hope for a new forest is, indeed, there. I just needed to look for it.
Renewal is a theme in the Bible. Just as that forest was born again, so are we. Christ died, but rose again. There is always hope.
Devotions of the Heart 