The Christian Woods~

The woods. The tall trees, expansive across acres upon acres, each with thousands of leaves clinging to their countless branches. The woods is a place of beauty, serenity, and peace, but as we know, the woods also scares many away, with its array of creatures. I can kind of see the Christian Church as a woods, a collection of species abroad, all with different intentions. I see Jesus Christ as a aromatic pine tree, calling wanderers of the woods with a crisp scent. Around this great tree are hundreds of other trees, such as the gentle maple, and the triumphant oak. These trees represent the Christians who had an undying passion for Christ. The martyrs, the life-changing missionaries, the brave rebels of foreign religions, are all a tree somewhere in this great forest. You see, the trees provide a cooling shade for wanderers, and extend their long branches over foreign heads. They show grace to all who come by. These trees produce thousands of seeds, symbolizing the legions of Christians that were inspired by them. Besides the trees, there are also leaves, and creatures abroad. Some, such as wolves, stalk pray at night, and consume other creatures of the woods when no one is watching. This would symbolize the judgementalism and hypocrisy in the church, and the harsh accusers who push fellow Christians out of the church, or out of the woods in this case. However, as we know, Satan is the root of all evil in the woods, being a snake. Outsiders hiking the forest are mesmerized by his striking colors, but before they know it, the are venemously stricken by Satan's lethal bite. In between the creatures of the dark and the trees & seeds...are fallen leaves. This makes up the bulk of the Christian Church and of the woods. We originally are found a bright green, attached to the trees that are the framework of Christianity. We are dangling from the firm branches with child-like faith, fearless, ready to make something happen. But the moment that cold, bitter wind picks up, we can no longer hold on to the firm branches of our ancestors, and we are swept down onto the forest floor. We realize that we never went anywhere with our faith, and we don't really know what it means to be a Christian. It's just a label we always gave to ourself. Many of these once youthful leaves simply shrivel up on the forest floor, and are crushed under outsiders feet because they are unable to defend their unchanged faith, and reasons for being part of the woods! 

This analogous comparison to the church is pretty accurate in my opinion, but I guess it's not perfect.  In spite of the few kinks in this analogy, I want you to put yourself somewhere in this great forest. Obviously, the pine tree is already taken, and many of the other trees have already taken root. However, will you be a seed, following in the enrooting of dozens of other trees, soon to be a tree of your own? Or maybe leaf, a little blip in the Christian community that doesn't even know the first thing about grace, forgiveness, and Christ's love. Are you that wolf, scaring outsiders away from the church? The good thing about this analogy is that you are allowed to repaint the picture to better match where you hope to be in the upcoming years (in relation to the Christian Church).