the last leaf

A lone leaf, willing itself no to die. But it must to provide for the new generation. Jesus had to die for a new generation to live. We who believe and accept Jesus are the new generation. Jesus is our life, our food, Jesus is our forever life

​THE LAST LEAF
The leaf hung on to its twig, determined not to let go.  It watched as the other leaves fell to the ground, or blew into piles along fences and around tree trunks.  It thought, ‘I will not follow them, I will not fall and die and rot in the ground, I will live on.’
The wind blew, but the leaf hung on, the frost settled over everything, the leaf shivered but hung on. It would not let go.  Its determination was supernatural.
What the leaf didn’t know was that when it fell, when it rotted into the ground, it fed next year’s next year’s young shoots, next year’s fruit.  I t would live again in another form or body. It would rise to a new life. It would not die.
Like the leaf we hang onto life, we don’t want to die.  We make the Doctors affluent in our search for life. The chemist is wealthy as he searches for the elixir of youth or the skin cream that dissolves the wrinkles.

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A beautiful carpet of color. soon the carpet will go brown and crumble away. making a provision of nutrients for the new shoots and the perpetuation of another generation.

​Jesus said, ‘I am the resurrection and life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die.’  John 11: 25. Jesus had to die, to overcome death and rise again and when we believe and accept Jesus as our saviour, he raises us with him and we overcome death and live forever.  Jesus rose to a new life, a new life in us.  Jesus lives in us and through us. ‘I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.’ Gal. 2: 20
In following Jesus, like the leaf, we have to let go of our twig and drop off and accept the fact that in dying to our old life we will be living a new life through Jesus.  We will serve others, our community, our families, our children.  We will not die but multiply in the lives we touch, and we will leave a deposit in whatever we touch. 
The leaf is determined to save its life; it will shrivel and disintegrate and be good for nothing if it stays on the tree. The same principle applies to our lives, live for our self alone and our life will disintegrate. Lose our life in and for Jesus, and we will live a rich and abundant life and live for eternity.
 Jesus said, ‘Whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and the gospel will save it.’ Mark 8: 35. 

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