The Special of the Day… From the Orange Moon Cafe…
"Every Leaf That Falls"
Autumn draws nigh. The days shorten. The warmth of summer wanes. The atmosphere clears to reveal the sky's bluest hue. And leaves will fall in death, but nevertheless display a beauty more sublime than the verdant green they bore in springtime's newness.
No tints surpass the golden, orange, red, yellow, and even brown enrobing of splendor that accompany the leaves to their final resting place and decomposition. This tells us so much of their Creator - and of our Redeemer. The beauty of autumn proclaims His wisdom, His creativity, His artistry, His power, and His loving presence and involvement in the universe He made and sustains. It also tells us of ourselves, that we are unique citizens of creation, endowed with spiritual, mental, emotional, and physical capacities to appreciate the Maker by the things He made. Yes, God made beauty. He also gave us the potential for wonder as we behold the glories of all things, and of autumn leaves.
The varying colors of Fall's dying foliage bear these and many other messages to our hearts. One, however, shines most vividly in the glory of autumn:
"Christ died for our sins" (I Corinthians 15:3).
The most beautiful moments that ever occurred in the world took place on the cross of Calvary. There, the death of the Lord Jesus Christ unveiled the sublime grandeur of God's heart.
"For when we were yet without strength, in due time, Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die, yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commendeth His love toward us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us… When we were enemies, we were reconciled unto God by the death of His Son" (Romans 5:6-8; 10).
Amid the ugly horror of our Lord's sorrow, agony, forsakenness, and death, God most revealed the wondrous character of His heart. He is the One who sent His beloved Son to die for those who killed Him. He is the One who prayed for mercy for His enemies, even as He died in pain for their sins. The beauty of the Divine nature glimmered most brightly when our Savior fell into the hands of sinners, and then hung on the cross they erected for Him. God intended it to be this way, just as He intended the leaves of autumn to most beautifully display their glory in death. Every leaf that falls tells us that the grace of God's heart exists as the most wondrous reality our hearts can ever behold and experience. Lovely in life, the leaves bear far more beauty in death. They tell us of grace that would have forever remained hidden in the heart apart from the cross.
"But God, who is rich in mercy for His great love wherewith He loved us, hath quickened us together with Christ (by grace ye are saved), that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us through Christ Jesus" (Ephesians 2:4-7).
In countless ways, creation reveals its Creator (Romans 1:20). None more define Him than the beauty of autumn. Yes, death will dazzle us with its display in days to come. The leaves will speak to our hearts as they fall in their beauty, telling us that God's heart is far more beautiful than we will ever know. They will tell us of Calvary, where such glory was most revealed as the Lord Jesus made possible the fall of God's grace upon us both now and forevermore. The Psalmist prayed for such a bestowal, and we close with rejoicing that his request was fulfilled…
"And let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us."
(Psalm 90:17)
Weekly Memory Verse
And let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us.
(Psalm 90:17)
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