Scattered In The Wilderness

1 Cor. 10:1-13

The woods are full of fallen trees – The world is full of fallen people.

…..While walking recently I noticed several fallen trees. Some were large, some were small.  These fallen trees were simply left there to rot in the heat and cold.  But what else is there to do with a fallen tree – except to let it lay where it has fallen?  These trees, sadly and maybe unavoidably, had fallen on other trees that were now bent over, disfigured, and unable to grow as they were intended.  Those trees are like people – they’re everywhere, scattered far and wide.  They’re in the church, in our neighborhoods, in our homes and families...  What can we learn?

I see many fallen Christians who are like trees scattered in the wilderness - But this is nothing new.  The good, godly, and gifted have been falling like trees since the days of Adam and Eve.  Skim the scriptures and you’ll read of men like Jacob and Esau, David and Samson, Bathsheba and Delilah, Nebuchadnezzar and Ahab and Jezebel and Jonah...Folks like Peter and Judas, Ananias and Sapphira, Demas and Diotrophes, and the list goes on. 

…..They’re all around us - men and women who once were…they were the good and godly and gifted…they were should have beens, could have beens, would have beens…they had dreams and aspirations, but now they’re like trees scattered in the wilderness – fallen never to rise again.  

I'm not suggesting that God’s grace isn’t enough – it’s just that fallen people are much like fallen trees.  They seldom ever rise above their fall. 

Truth from Trees:

·      Fallen trees land on others.  A fallen believer has an effect on those around them.  Dad, if you fall, you may fall on your son.  Mom, if you fall, you may fall on your daughter.  Don’t think your fall won’t leave a mark on your children.  …Pastor, when you fall, you may fall on your congregation.  No one lives on an island - Your success and failure falls on others.  You leave a mark for good or bad.

·      Fallen trees leave a reminder.  Fallen trees remind us regardless of how strong or tall – every tree can fall.  They remind us we’re all vulnerable.  They remind us we’re all one storm away from being flat on our back.  No one is so healthy they can’t get sick.  No one is so spiritual they can’t be tempted.  No one is so important that they can’t be replaced.

   Some people, like trees, are struck down.  A single bolt of the unexpected pronounces a death sentence.  Some are blown down.  A storm moves in and uproots a family and their future.  Some are cut down.  Someone or something becomes a tool in the hand of the devil and all that's left is a stump...a reminder of what used to be.

Here's what I see in 1 Corinthians 10...  

1. They started out Sheltered but ended up Scattered. 10:1-5
2. Instead of kneeling down to Pray they rose up to Play. 10:6-11

3. God helps us Stand Up when we feel like Giving Up.

Let'e pray for one another.  Let's practice Galatians 6:1"Brethren if a man be overtaken in a fault, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of meekness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted."

MM