Brown Among The Green

I saw a tiny bird on my walk.
It was close to the side of the road.
I wondered if it had been injured.
I stopped and stooped down just a bit.

I saw its little eyes darting back and forth.
I saw its rapid breathing.
Hello, little one, I said as if it understood me.
The little eyes seemed to look in my direction, or maybe I just thought they did.

I wondered if I should pick up the bird.
I was not quite sure where I would even put it once I did.
The trees nearby were quite tall.
Even if there had been a nest, I would never have reached it.

As I wondered, the little bird hopped off towards the brush.
Perhaps it was simply startled.
Perhaps…
As my mind raced with possibilities, it was gone.

In the safety of the brush, it could recover.
In the lush foliage, it was hidden for a time.
It was then I noticed how very green everything was all around me.
The longest day of the year had passed; for now green was the color of the season.

I continued on my walk noting the lushness of everything around me.
All gifts of the One who created all I was seeing.
I noticed the trees, thick with leaves.
Soon the colors on my walk will change to orange and russet and yellow.

But for now, green.

As I rounded a corner, I noticed a change in color.
There was brown where there should have been green.
Among the live branches there were dead limbs.
Among the lushness, there was death.

The brown seemed out of place here.
The brown interrupted the green that was everywhere I looked.
The dead limbs seemed out of place among the life that was all around me.
The dead limbs, that I did not see before, were right there in front of me.

There they were, still deep inside the tree.
They had not fallen.
For now they were attached.
They were attached yet they were dead.

But for now, brown.

On the one side, the tree looked lush and alive.
On the other side, the dead branches were visible.
I wanted to pull the dead branches off myself.
That would be a job for another; that would be a job for one who knew what he was doing.

Jesus told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared.” The owner’s servants came to him and said, “Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?” “An enemy did this,” he replied. The servants asked him, “Do you want us to go and pull them up?” “No,” he answered, “because while you are pulling the weeds, you may uproot the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn…” Then he left the crowd and went into the house. His disciples came to him and said, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field.” He answered, “The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world, and the good seed stands for the people of the kingdom. The weeds are the people of the evil one, and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels. As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil.  They will throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Whoever has ears, let them hear.”
(Matthew 13:24-30 and 13:36-43)

There was death in the middle of life.
There were brown, lifeless branches in the middle of green ones that were very much alive.
In time, if the dead branches are not removed, it will affect the rest of the tree.
Removing the dead branches must be done properly for the sake of the tree.

Jesus told a parable about a lush crop of wheat.
There were weeds growing among the wheat.
The workers wanted to pull the weeds out.
Jesus did not want them to do that because they might pull the wheat with the weeds.

If I had been able to pull out the dead branches, I might have damaged the tree.
I would not know what I was doing; I would have removed the limbs haphazardly.
One wiser than I would have to remove the dead branches.
One wiser than I would have to help the tree thrive.

Brown among green.
Death among life.
Jesus saw such things as he walked with His disciples.
Jesus did nothing haphazardly.

Everything Jesus did was what the Father wanted Him to do.
Everything Jesus said was what the Father wanted Him to say.
Jesus lost none that the Father gave Him.
There will be a day when the weeds will be separated from the wheat.

For now, they grow together.
For now, they are side by side.
Jesus does nothing haphazardly.
In Him there is abundant life; In Him, we thrive.