Last year, we made the difficult decision to cut down the
tree in our front yard. It wasn’t something we wanted to do, but the heart of
the tree had died. The trunk was hollowing out from the inside, and we grew
concerned that it might eventually topple in a storm — possibly onto the road,
the driveway, or even the my uncle’s house. For the safety of our family and
anyone passing by, we did what we felt we had to do.
I remember watching as the saw cut through that trunk. It
felt so final. The tree that had once provided shade, beauty, and even a home
for birds and squirrels was reduced to a stump. I thought the story of that
tree was over.
But nature has a way of surprising us.
As time went on, when I glanced toward where the stump still
sits, I noticed something unexpected. Not one, not two, but three strong
shoots had sprouted from the base of what looked like a dead and finished tree.
In just one winter, these shoots had shot up over six feet tall, standing
straight and strong, as if to declare, “We are not done yet!”
And as I stood there looking at them, the symbolism struck
me — especially this time of year, so close to Easter.
The number three is significant in so many ways, but in this
moment it reminded me of the Trinity: God the Father, God the Son, and God the
Holy Spirit. Three distinct, yet one in essence, just like these shoots —
separate in form, but rooted in the same source.
What I thought was dead was not dead at all. Beneath the
surface, the roots had held on to life. When the visible part of the tree had
been cut away, the unseen part had quietly been preparing for new growth.
Isn’t that the message of Easter?
When Jesus was crucified, the world thought it was finished.
His friends and followers watched Him suffer and die on the cross, and then saw
His body laid in a tomb. “Then Jesus, calling out with a loud voice, said,
‘Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!’ And having said this he breathed
his last.” (Luke 23:46, ESV). Darkness and silence followed. From every
human perspective, the story was over.
But God was not finished.
On the third day, the women came to the tomb and found the
stone rolled away. An angel declared, “Why do you seek the living among the
dead? He is not here, but has risen.” (Luke 24:5-6, ESV). Jesus rose from
the dead, conquering sin and death, and offering new life to all who would
believe. As Paul wrote, “We know that Christ, being raised from the dead,
will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him.” (Romans 6:9,
ESV). What looked like an ending was actually the greatest beginning the world
has ever known. And Jesus Himself assures us, “I am the resurrection and the
life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live.” (John
11:25, ESV).
This truth is echoed in nature, and even in the stump of a
tree.
The Apostle Paul writes in Romans 8:11:
“If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is
living in you,
he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies
because of his Spirit who lives in you.”
And Jesus Himself said in John 12:24:
“Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to
the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed.
But if it dies, it produces many seeds.”
Sometimes in life we face seasons where it feels like
everything has been cut down — hopes dashed, dreams lost, relationships broken,
and futures uncertain. It’s easy to look at the “stumps” in our lives and think
the story is over.
But Easter teaches us something else entirely. The story is
never over when God is involved. Resurrection is at the heart of who He is. The
same power that raised Christ from the grave is alive and working in the lives
of His people.
And just like that tree in my front yard — rooted deeply,
quietly persistent, and powerfully connected — our lives are held securely in
God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Three in one, working together
to breathe new life into what looks lifeless.
This Easter season, as you see signs of spring and new
growth emerging from the earth, I invite you to reflect on the truth that hope
is never really gone. God is always at work, even beneath the surface, and new
life is His specialty.
Let the three shoots of that old tree stump remind you:
When the world says, “It’s over,” God says, “I’m just getting started.”
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