Creative Destruction

When I was in Hawai'i last month, I hiked through a cloud rainforest on the steep slopes of an inactive volcano.

There were tree roots everywhere! I had to walk carefully not to land on my face between the slippery conditions and twisty roots.

The trees are growing on lava rocks. Their roots are all over the surface because they can't go deeper through the rock. The roots spread out and search for the smallest cracks to send tiny tendrils down to get nutrients and water for growth. The roots spread across the surface, constantly looking for the next crack and crevice.

In the process, the roots themselves start making the cracks bigger, and the rock starts to wear away from water and wind to become soil. Rich volcanic soil. Soil that will be luscious for the growth of tons of plants ... eventually. The creative energy of rich soil can only be released by the destruction of the lava rocks formed by the volcano. Growth and productivity and abundance comes from destruction and change.

How many of are excited about change in our lives? Many of us prefer our status quo, our comfort zones. Jesus offers us new life, but many of us stick with what we already know, even when it goes in a different direction than Jesus is leading us toward.

Are we willing to spread out and be changed? Are we will to give up what we know in order to become something better as a new creation in Jesus? The process might be painful, but as I look at God's creation, it always leads to something better. Maybe we should give it a try!

So then, if anyone is in Christ, that person is part of the new creation. The old things have gone away, and look, new things have arrived! 2 Corinthians 5:17

Pastor Anna-Lisa Hunter

October 13, 2025