trees in winter

St Hermas talks to us today about dead trees in A Year with the Church Fathers. He says that in this life, it's often difficult to tell the followers of Jesus from everyone else. That it's like trees in winter... they all look dead. But when spring comes, you find out which ones are dead and which were just sleeping.

His reminder is a good one for us. It's easy to think that we know who knows God and who doesn't. And we're then tempted to treat people differently based on those assumptions. But if you lived during Jesus's ministry, you would have thought Judas Iscariot was without a doubt one of those who knew God. And you probably would have guessed that some of the prostitutes and tax collectors did not know God. But you were have had it completely wrong.

It's easy to be very wrong about that today, too. Let's be careful not to presume to know if people know Him or not. "But how can we share our faith with people if we don't know who's lost?"

Easy answer. We share our faith with everyone. We love everyone, pray for everyone. We tell our story to everyone we meet. And if they need to come closer to God, whether they call themselves Christians or not, our sharing will draw them closer. It's not our job to decide if they're saved or not.

God, thanks for teaching us by way of the trees. Please help us to share our stories with everyone.