Green,Green, Green

Green, Green, and more Green

June 20, VT, NH, ME

Ephesians 2: 1, “you were living in your sins and lawless ways”…verse 5- “He gave us new life because of what Christ has done”    8-10 God’s grace has saved you because of your faith in Christ. Your salvation doesn’t come from anything you do. It is God’s gift. It is not based on anything you have done. No one can brag about earning it. We are God’s creation. He created us to do good works. Long ago God prepared these works for us to do.”

2 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away, behold, new things have come.”

            Mountains and trees, mountains and trees, mountains and trees! We have seen many beautiful mountain ranges and trees throughout New York, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine.

            Adirondack- Northern New York. Protected area spanning millions of acre of mountain peaks, sparkling lakes and wild spaced. It has seven distinct regions that come together to create one epic vacation destination. Trees include sugar maple, American beech, and yellow birch.  All of them are rich in color during the spring and summer seasons.

            Green- Vermont. It runs from south to north and extends approximately 250 miles from the border of Massachusetts to that with Quebec. The trees here are called the Hemlock-Northern Hardwoods- the sugar maple, the yellow birch and the Beech. Sugar Maple is probably the most common.

            White Mountains- New Hampshire.  They cover about a quarter of the state of New Hampshire and a small portion of western Maine. They are part of the Appalachian Mountains and the most rugged mountains in New England. The lush green leaves begin to fade in late August, signaling that trees have made enough chlorophyll, which gave them their rich green color.

            Appalachian Mountains-Maine and all down the east coast

            Everywhere you look you see green, green, and more green. Riding through New York, Vermont, New Hampshire and into Maine, we have seen the rich green colors of all the mountain ranges. It is amazing how deep the colors can be and how thick the forests are. Each state has its own type of trees that cover the mountain ranges. It is hard to say which of them has the prettiest site to behold.

            What makes those trees so green? A green pigment, called chlorophyll. It is necessary for the plants to make food for themselves using light energy and carbon dioxide.

            As we were riding and looking at all the green, a thought came to mind. Green signifies new life and growth. For the trees, it is a way for them to stay alive by being able to produce the food they need. 

For Christians, it means we are becoming more and more like Christ. Our journey begins at salvation and we become a new creature. Our slate has been wiped clean and we are a baby once again. Remember when Jesus spoke to Nicodemus and told him he had to be born again? Nicodemus couldn’t understand what Jesus meant.  We must be born of the Spirit. After we are born again, we begin our life in Christ. I believe we go through stages just as we do after we are  physically born.

Baby stage—we need to fed milk by everyone around us. We are usually very needy during time.

Toddler- we are beginning to eat some regular food, but still need strong guidance. We will make messes for others to clean up for us. Most begin to try eating on their own, but still need help.

Child- we are somewhat past the messy diaper stage, but there will be times when we make messes and will need help cleaning them up. We should be eating more of a variety of food and be able to feed ourselves.

            Teenager- We think we know everything there is to know. We find ourselves not wanting anyone to tell us what to do or give instructions.

            Adult- hopefully we reach the mature stage. Not meaning we don’t keep learning, but we are more open to the encouragement and instruction of others and willing to hear it. Our growth in Christ never stops. It is an ongoing process until we meet Him in heaven.

            Think about your own spiritual life.  Which stage are you in ? Pray and ask the Lord to reveal where you and what you need to do.