An intimate relationship that has existed almost since the beginning of time. Lichen, made up of algal and fungal cells, is life, living in a mutually beneficial relationship.
As we celebrate the Ascension of Jesus and await His promise of the Holy Spirit, we can only speculate as to how the first disciples must have felt at the time. Now we know that much like the lichen, when we receive the Holy Spirit into our lives, we are committing to a life-long relationship of intimate love. And it is a mutually beneficial relationship. The Trinity gives love and receives our love on the same basis. And it is, in its Spirit form, like the air that the lichen survives on and like the water we ae baptised in.
Like the lichen, in so many cases, what we look like apart from God is completely different to what we look like when we are joined with Him. Sometimes it is just the simple things in life that show us who, where and what God is! I find great comfort that such primitive and simple forms of life have been in mutually beneficial relationships from the beginning and that this must surely be an indication of what God wanted for His creation.
He leaves these signs clearly written for us throughout nature, and it is up to us to notice them as we go about our daily tasks. In this case, removing branches to free up some winter “Son” brought a message of a simple and divine truth: Our lives with the Trinity are as fulfilling for us as they are for Him, and our structure and character are different in appearance when we are in a relationship with Him compared to what we look like apart.
As Jesus ascends to be with His Father, so He leaves with us a promise as a whisper in the wilderness of a relationship to come. One that will provide a conduit for a bi-directional flow of love in the most intimate relationship that anyone could dream of!
