How many times have you seen something similar? Where trees are plentiful and the soil is rocky, many times it’s easier to attach the fencing to the trees. Subsequently, the tree grows around the wire. A few years ago, we were shocked to see Ron’s chainsaw sparking as we cut down an old oak tree. Embedded in the heart of the tree was barbed wire. It had long since rusted away on the outside, but the tree had grown around the wire and had preserved it to dull Ron’s blade when he cut into it.
It’s an interesting object lesson, isn’t it. That is, there are things that don’t really belong in our lives, things that are not beneficial to our growth and development and actually are detrimental to our development. But we put up with them and develop around these foreign things (experiences, thoughts, relationships, behaviors, habits). They become part of who we are - to the point that, eventually, trying to eradicate them would mean major surgery - physically, mentally, or spiritually.
The crazy thing is: anyone looking at our lives could clearly see that the “thing” doesn’t belong in our lives any more than the ladder belongs in the tree. The thing adds stress, provides an entry point for disease, and is, at the best laughable, and at the worst, hideous.
We would like to believe that a “ladder-laden” person would be someone who has yet to come to Christ. It must be those sin-sick souls out of whom ladders would protrude as unsightly encumbrances. We would counsel them to heed the call of the Savior to repent and go under the waters of baptism, eschewing the world and its sinfulness, its foreign and harmful behaviors and ideas. And there’s a lot of truth in those words. Jesus does take the sinner, lost and lonely, rescuing each of us from the miry pit of sin, destructive behaviors and ungodly thoughts.
But as the apostle Paul eloquently describes in Romans 7, what we want to do as a new creation in Christ is at odds with the carnal nature still within us. We do the things we don’t want to do. We unwisely allow ungodly behaviors to abide in our lives even as we strive to walk worthy of the calling we have received.
Do we recognize our continuing need for the Savior? Do we understand that God says He is cleansing and sanctifying us (Ephesians 5:26-27; Hebrews 10:14)? He is purifying a people for His own possession (Titus 2:14). Do we understand that even as we have to make Godly choices, repulsing the evil and desiring the good, we cannot rely on our strength and understanding? (Zechariah 4:6; 2 Chronicles 32:8) Do we comprehend our deep need for the transforming work of the Holy Spirit in our lives? (2 Corinthians 3:8; Romans 12:2) If we want to become Christlike, we have to draw near to Him, submitting to His work in our lives, choosing daily His ways and keeping our eyes focused on Him.
Our goal is to grow ever more like our Elder Brother, Jesus Christ, becoming like Him in thought, word, and deed. We want to be molded into a useful and God-honoring vessel by the Potter. That requires discipline and a willingness to bring every thought into submission to Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5). It requires honest, ongoing self-evaluation. It requires spending time quietly meditating on the things of God. It requires everything we are. Otherwise, we could very well be walking around, proclaiming Christ all the while sporting a ladder or rusty barbed wire rather than the fruit of the Spirit.