A Hollow Life

Two weeks ago I wrote about the enormous 280-year-old Red Oak tree by our church office (7-7-2023 blog post).  In recent years it had shown signs of disease, and this past week it was taken down.

Nothing like a cross section of the trunk to reveal the health of a tree—or, in this case, the severity of its sickness.  Evidently this majestic oak guardian of our grounds had been deteriorating for a long time: Over half of its diameter had rotted away (e.g., at a point where the trunk was 60 inches wide, a hollow core more than 30 inches across lurked in the tree’s interior).

This tree is a metaphor.  Do you have eyes to see?  Up until recent times it had the appearance of health; externally it seemed to be the same strong, steady, old (and I mean old) oak we’d all known for as long as anyone could remember.  But beneath the surface, far from the light of day, decay was spreading, infesting; it was killing the king of the forest from the inside out!

In Matthew 23, Jesus speaks fierce “woes” upon the Pharisees.  Why?  Because, while keeping the externals of their religious lives squeaky clean, inwardly they’re filthy:  “You are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people’s bones and all uncleanness” (23:27).

Jesus rebukes hypocrites who honor God with their lips while their hearts are far from him (15:8-9):  Lips, words, outward signals, appearances… but what’s going on internally?  Does your heart beat with humble, grateful trust in our Savior?

Jesus confronts religious showman­ship:  Don’t pray, give, or fast for human applause! (6:1-18).  Instead, let your true self be seen by “the audience of One”; leave it to God to know your heart—if he sees the real you even when no one else does, it is enough.

So what’s going on deep down in your soul today?  Are you letting sin fester and cause rot?  Confess it to Christ now—he is merciful to forgive and powerful to help us grow in holiness!