Fall in the Great Smoky Mountains

For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.” “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain. (1 Corinthians 15:53-58 ESV).

This week Mary and I are traveling to Tennessee. I will be privileged to preach at Santa Fe Baptist Church where I pastored for five years before moving home to Texas. We will also get to spend some time with some of our dearest friends while we are there. Of course, no trip that close to the mountains would be complete without traveling to the Smokies. Hopefully the timing will be late enough into Fall that the colors will have begun to appear. As you can see from this picture I took some years ago, they can be spectacular! It really is a magical time of year when the leaves on the trees change from green to many shades of blood orange, red, bright yellow, and rust. Driving along the mountain roads, especially in Cade’s Cove, I am reminded of the incredible promises of God for our future. Sometimes it is easy to forget that the beauty of the leaves is a result of their annual death. The green of their chlorophyll decomposes, revealing other natural pigments in the leaves which give us the incredible yellows, reds, and oranges. Death can be very a very difficult topic for us. We have self-awareness, a consciousness we so prize that we fear losing it for eternity. However, as I step back, I can acknowledge the generations of people who preceded me. We would not be here if it were not for our ancestors.Think of it, as each leaf carries with it the DNA of its “ancestors,” we carry that same “legacy” in our being. Death gives way to future beauty in the cycle of on-going creation begun and sustained by God through the ages. God’s power and being exists in the cycles of our living and dying. It’s a marvelous plan of creation that renews and progresses. As the Apostle Paul reminds us, death is no ending. That which was always “perishable” is now putting on that which can never die. Therein lays the great difference in the regular cycle of autumn and eternal life. These bodies may die once, but we will forever live in the grace God has extended to us through Christ. Death is swallowed up in victory! That reminder is always an encouragement to me. I hope it is to you as well. Enjoy the color changes and look forward to your own change in Christ!