Autumn Leaves

Our US cousins call this season 'fall', but we still call it autumn, a word derived from the Latin, autumnus, meaning mature or harvest.

For most of us, autumn is the time when the leaves change colour and fall to the ground, awaiting the wind or human agency to move them somewhere else.

The beauty of autumn leaves derives from the breakdown of the internal green colouring, chlorophyll, and the development of other pigments, which have lain dormant so far, or been masked by the overwhelming green. The colours develop much better, when the leaves have experienced proper cold autumn nights that come with clear skies.

Each species develops its own autumnal appearance in different ways, giving us the beautiful palette of colours that are showing so brightly today. 

Paradoxically, the beauty derives from ageing and breakdown.

St,. Paul, not writing about autumn leaves, makes a profound point about the changes that are taking place in the lives of those who follow Christ.

'That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.' (2 Corinthians 4.16-18)

St. Paul's reminds us that while the physical processes of decay and death are relentlessly working away in our lives, something else is also taking place. For those whose lives are rooted in the promises made to us through Jesus, something of far greater beauty, permanence and significance is also developing, within us. 

We can choose to focus on what we are losing, in physical terms, or focus on what God is growing is us, which is getting better and better - a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! That is why St. Paul is so upbeat, in the face of troubles, because our troubles will not last for eternity, while our rewards are eternal. 

So today, as I look at the beauty of the autumn leaves, I shall thank the Lord for the deep work he is doing in me and others, as we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever!

Best wishes,

Richard