Although many trees keep their leaves or needles year-round, many species drop their leaves in autumn. But before they fall, there is usually a vibrant display of various colors in these leaves. Red maples and sugar maples, along with oaks, blaze with fiery red, orange and gold; dogwoods turn a shade of purple; sassafras leaves take on scarlet and orange colors; poplars and aspens become golden yellow. Other species add their various beautiful colors until the forest almost appears to be on fire.
Leaves are to a tree what lungs are to humans, taking in carbon dioxide found in the air. The tree takes in water and minerals from the soil through its roots, which are needed along with the carbon dioxide to properly feed the tree. These three things together make up “raw sap.”
Chlorophyll found in the leaves is what gives them their green color, and it is like a miniature chemical factory. It uses a process called photosynthesis to turn the ingredients in the raw sap, using energy it gets from the light of the sun, to make something called “elaborated sap” which feeds the tree. This elaborated sap is the tree’s food. It stores it in its roots or in its fruits, such as in an apple.
During the day, the leaf absorbs carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and in exchange gives off oxygen, so vital to air-breathing man, animals, birds and insects. Without the forests and other plants of the world, there would not be enough oxygen to sustain life.
As fall approaches, there is less sunlight. The tree creates a layer of cells to cut off the water and minerals to the leaves, storing them in the tree instead for the long winter ahead. Soon the green color fades from the leaves. The spectacular colors appear as the leaf dies — red, orange, purple, gold and yellow. These colors have been in the leaf all along, but the green chlorophyll has hidden them. Finally, the dead leaves are forced off by wind and rain. The layer of cells protects the tree so germs can’t enter the tree where the leaf used to be.
Our opening verse talks about a day that is coming soon, when the Lord Jesus will reign over this earth, and then all of creation will show the full beauty He intended it to have. If you are part of His new creation because you have been saved by His blood, your life can show the beauty that is in Him, even now. Leaves get the energy they need from the sun, and Christians get all they need through the Lord Jesus. As we look at Him, the Bible tells us we are changed to be like Him. Have you spent time looking at Him in the Bible, today?
Did You Know?
Chlorophyll found in leaves is what gives them their green color.
Messages of God’s Love 5/5/2024