True Colors
"Then the glory of the Lord will be revealed,
And all flesh will see it together;
For the mouth of the Lord has spoken."
Isaiah 40:5 nasbu
With fleeting speed the world around the pond has changed. As if it occurred overnight, the trees have changed clothes from the green of summer, through the cheerful hues of autumn, to the near-nudity of approaching winter.
All summer long the leaves have played false with us. We have seen their predominant green as their true color, attributing the transient earth hues of autumn only to the fading of their life before falling, inevitably, to the ground. But the autumn colors are the ones that are true. The reds, warm oranges, and rich musky browns are the true colors of the leaves. For most of the year, the presence of chlorophyll has masked the real color of each leaf. It is only in the autumn of the year, when the chlorophyll fades, that the true color is revealed.
This modern age, as well, seems to be pumped full to the gills with chlorophyll. Whether in business or politics, or simply the purchase of the latest, "New and Improved!" shampoo, the rule of the day is to mask the truth
while promoting the lie--until the lie
becomes truth, and the trees stay green year-round.
Tennyson once wrote, "That a lie which is all a lie may be met and fought with outright / But a lie which is part a truth is a harder matter to fight." The person of integrity struggles to know who to believe and when it is safe to believe them--a process made more difficult because the lies have been peppered by small truths designed to mask the deceit they flavor.
If God judges the individual by the color of the heart, how then are we to decide about others when this divine barometer of integrity remains unavailable to our senses? The tree remains a tree from season to season. At times it is clothed conservatively in utilitarian green, at times it is draped extravagantly in variegated hues. At times it is coldly naked. But it remains a tree, nothing more. It will some day wither and die, to become loam for the seedlings that begin at its feet.
The dark lies of this present age will wither and die as well; they have no place in the eternal light of God's righteousness. We need not place our trust in a tree. We need only enjoy its color, then move on.
"Turn to Me and be saved, all the ends of the earth;
For I am God, and there is no other.
I have sworn by Myself,
The word has gone forth from My mouth in righteousness
And will not turn back,
That to Me every knee will bow, every tongue will swear allegiance."
Isaiah 45:22-23 nasbu