God promises: “Even a woman may forget her nursing child, yet I will not forget you. Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands.” (Isaiah 49: 15,16) Among those who first heard these words, who could have anticipated the Greatest Cost, Christ’s engraved/cross-scarred hands, seven hundred years later?

Friends, pastor/poet Holy George Herbert (1593 -1633) shone like a lodestar for my college English Lit. professor, Dr. Ed Ericson. Ericson told us: “When Herbert crossed from his home to pray in the church at regularly scheduled hours, men working in the fields stopped working, knelt in prayer, joining their parson in spirit. He became known throughout England as Holy Mr. Herbert.”
That 364-year-old story planted a lively seed in my liberated soul.
Paul wrote: “You belong to him who has been raised from the dead in order that we may bear fruit for God.” (Romans 7:4) “Valley of Vision” heralds: “Resurrected Jesus strides forth as Victor, Conqueror of death, hell and all opposing might, trampling the powers of darkness, the devil’s scepter shivered, his wrongful throne leveled.”
Really? Yes.
Despite having only a mustard-seed faith, for me, college meant new worlds opening, including Herbert’s “soul-full” poetry.
For “soul,” some pursue “psychology” – literally, “soul” (“psyche”) “study” (“logy”). But, much “psychology” grasps neither our souls nor God. Understand Solzhenitsyn: “The meaning of earthly existence lies not in material prospering but in soul development.”
Here, to develop “soul,” we’ll be grounded by Scripture: a Hebrew word, ‘qashar’ and Isaiah. Eventually, we’ll return to Herbert.
The Bible is refreshingly soul-full. Consider, Benjamin’s father, Jacob. Jacob’s “‘soul’ is ‘bound up’ ‘in’” (‘with’/’attached to’/‘dependent upon’/‘joined to’/‘trussed to’) Benjamin’s “‘soul.’” And: “Jonathan’s ‘soul’ was “knit” to the ‘soul’ of David. Jonathan loved him as his own ‘soul.’” (Genesis 44:30, 1 Samuel 18:1)
Note the connection of “qashar,” “bound up”/“knit,” with “soul.” Healthy/holy souls deepen relationships.
Likewise, when a co-laborer first held his adopted baby, my friend felt his heart enlarge with new rivers of love. Tender filigrees of love in the soul may become strong cords binding soul and soul.
Sadly, forces, like death, attempt to rupture those bonds. “We said a heartbreaking goodbye to my Uncle Nat Belz, a great and kind friend. We already miss his brilliant sense of humor and his unwavering faith in God.” (Stephen Lutz, 4/1/23)
Accordingly, the Great Soul asks: “Can a woman forget her nursing child, that she should have no ‘compassion’ on the son of her womb?” (Isaiah 49:15) “Compassion” is from “racham,” “womb,” often a place of bonded love.
Could a mother “forget” her nursing child? Yes, the Fall made us self-absorbed, oblivious “fools.”
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Absolutely astonishing! What shall we, soaked in sin, say to such blood-stained passionate pursuit? If God is for us, who can be against us? Christian and those who will yet trust him, Father God would give up his only Son before he’d give up on you! And, Jesus would betray himself before he would betray you! Christian, as betrayed Jesus’ hands opened for the nails, heaven opened for you.

In the jungles of Irian Jaya, the Sawi people warred with their enemies. The Sawi honored treachery, duplicity and betrayal. Their greatest success? “Befriending” a person and then, when he trusted them, cannibalizing him.
In 1962, Don Richardson and his wife Carol became novice missionaries among the headhunting Sawi, taking their seven-month-old baby with them and adding three more children over the next 15 years.
Don, devoted 8-10 hours each day to learning their language. He reproduced the New Testament in Sawi, teaching the people to read in their native tongue. Carol, a nurse, labored faithfully as “the woman who keeps all the people well.”
However, the Sawi constantly made war with nearby tribes. Finally, for safety, the Richardsons considered moving.
Missionary historian Ruth A. Tucker writes: “As (Don) learned the language and lived with the people, he became more aware of the gulf that separated his Christian worldview from the worldview of the Sawi: ‘In their eyes, Judas, not Jesus, was the hero of the Gospels, Jesus was just the dupe to be laughed at.’”
Friend, is it shocking for you to discover Judas hailed as the hero? Multifaceted betrayal shone like a gem for the Sawi. And for how many others does it subliminally/subconsciously shine? Friend, what if our valuing truth, faithfulness, and relationships is due to the pervasive influence of Christ we have grown to expect? Otherwise, what if “Et tu, Brute” defines reality? Stabbed 60 times, Caesar’s betrayal was a Roman norm. Consider treachery and the history of any nation, say from Vanuatu to Venezuela.
Note, even for us “betrayal” is multi-faceted. We define it as: “unintentionally to show one’s true character” – “to indicate what is not obvious” – “to reveal or disclose in violation of confidence” – “to prove false or violate by unfaithfulness” – “to mislead, delude, or deceive in order to deliver or expose someone to an enemy’s power.”
In “betrayal,” “be” intensifies “tray.” “Tray” is like “trans” – “on the other side of,” “to go across, over, beyond.” “Betrayal” proves a “dear” (“be”) friend to be “very distant” (“trans/tray”) – an “enemy.” The distance of an “enemy” is unveiled by the origin of our word “enemy,” “the opposite of one who loves.” Ruthless!
Now, consider a Greek New Testament word, “paradidómi.”
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From 10/21-7/22, our now 43-year-old son Jordan went through great adversities. He responded to ongoing wicked trauma on many fronts by trying to take his life three times. We felt the power of that vortex too. Once, in Mexico, he jumped from a tower, broke his back and smashed his feet. His back required 8-hour surgery. It is remarkable he can walk on his shattered feet. After we exhausted mental health resources in Montana, friends recommended Menninger Clinic in Houston. Menninger charged $50,000 to walk in the door. God provided.

Stephen King’s character, Ted Brautigan, tells youthful Bobby Garfield, “When you’re young, you have moments of such happiness, you think you’re living in someplace magical, like Atlantis must have been. Then we grow up, and our hearts break in two.” (“Hearts in Atlantis”)
That breaking comes in many ways. Because of sin’s onset, God “subjected” (creation) “to futility”…and placed it in “slavery to corruption.” (Romans 8:20, 21) Friend, who knows when futility and corruption will manifest themselves?
For example, consider “Sam”, a sprightly older man in his late 70’s. We met after a lecture regarding the care of words. Our conversation ran deep.
As an infant, Sam simultaneously contracted two serious diseases. The doctor, called to Sam’s parent’s farmhouse, held out no hope. Already having lost other children to disease, Sam’s Mother with deep groaning poured out her soul in prayer like Hannah (1 Samuel 1: 10-17).
Mercy, mercy! God spared Sam’s life. Like Hannah in the Bible, Sam’s Mother encouraged Sam to go into the ministry. And he did.
Sam and his wife, “Sarah”, raised six children. And there were challenges with churches – he even had the sad duty of closing one.
Sam’s greatest challenge came after the children had left. Something broke in Sarah. She became dangerous. On numerous occasions, she tried to take Sam’s life. Finally, a daughter helped him commit Sarah to a mental hospital.
Once, after Sam visited Sarah, a doctor pulled him aside saying: “Sam, following your visits, it takes days for your wife to settle down. For her well-being and ours, we ask you not to visit your wife.”
What a story!
I asked Sam: “What good has God been in all of this?”
Sam, who had thought much about life, with unwavering voice replied: “God’s love is incorruptible.”
Friend, “incorruptible” leads us to the majestic New Testament book, Ephesians. Paul and the Holy Spirit conspire to make “incorruptible” the last word – the word that continues to ring in our ears and dominate our thoughts.
“Incorruptible” had that effect on me.
Traveling from Helena to preach Sunday, August 27, 2023, for a 4:00 service in Laurel, MT (3+ hours away), I felt an urge – by the Holy Spirit? –  to stop and worship at dynamic Trailhead Christian Fellowship – north of Townsend.
Although I walked in late, that unexpected stop paid rich dividends.
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As aspens reveal hidden fall glory, unexpected faith transforms astonished sinners. Formerly tarnished outlaws interiorize/showcase/reflect Redeemer God’s brilliant love/truth stashed in Christ! Jesus tells Son-drenched new creations: “You are the light of the world!” (Matthew 5:13) “The ultimate experience of life is knowing God.” (Billy Graham) Who would have guessed? Hallelujah!

Friend, let’s contemplate fall. Fall’s colors remove a shroud and reveal hidden glory. What veiled glories will God reveal to you and in you?
First, some personal history. For the past eighteen years, the West has been home. It is my treasured birthplace and Via’s chosen adopted abode. Still, for the prior thirty years, God gave us a home among the Southeast’s multi-hued fall grandeur and – here I must pile up adjectives – its redolent floral spring exuberance.
Such spring and fall triumphs are now muted – fond memories.
But here, fall after God-given fall, we have mostly brilliant yellow and evergreen green – with a few splashes of orange among humble bushes and a few unusual aspen. Not much? Not so! Here simplicity bespeaks and magnifies beauty.
Casting our eyes along roadside rivers, well-hydrated deciduous leviathans display their fall golden yellow – adding wonder to the river’s gun-metal hue and the vast expanse of Cerulean blue sky.
But up in the mountains, Fall, we delight to discover your awaited royal golden yellow – ASPEN! – especially along the forest edge – or in secluded pockets, here and there. Suddenly, Fall you transform timid isolation into strikingly bold expression. Glowing aspen, you beguile us by your luminous virtuosity. No yellow compares with your sun-drenched, stunning-yellow. Great Emancipator God, you stashed improbable glory in aspen! Who would have guessed? Hallelujah!
Note: aspens mean “young forest.” These white-with-random-splashes-of-black barked beauties make way for shade-tolerant evergreens which eventually choke-out their vibrant hosts.
But, until that final day, Fall, aspens radiantly answer your call to reflect the sun’s splendor. Creator God, these bewilderingly spectacular martyrs bear witness to your uncommon/common grace.
One October, so I could preach at Covenant Presbyterian in Lander, Wyoming, Via and I traveled six hundred miles from presbytery in Kalispell, Montana, to Lander. Such windshield time reinvigorated our souls! Stretches around Polebridge, Seeley-Swan, Big Sky, Yellowstone, the Tetons, and Dubois took our breath away. Marvelous!
And there is more.
While other trees perform photosynthesis through leaves, aspens’ thin white bark allows sunlight to pass through to the chlorophyll containing cortex. Thus, aspens thrive in tough snowy conditions when other trees remain dormant.
Also during winter, sugar in the aspen’s bark sustains wildlife – deer, elk and rabbit. What a lifeline!
And, here we pause for a story. When Via and I first moved to Helena, we lived in town. Eight years later when our youngest graduated from high school, we found a fixer-upper-with-a- view halfway up a small mountain. We named our new home Starfall.
As we prepared to move, I took some aspens I’d planted at our in-town home and transplanted them to a grassy meadow at the base of Starfall’s hill. I bucketed water so they would survive.
And they did – until one morning I discovered deer had eaten them off at ground level. Ouch!
Later that summer when everything else turned brown, the meadow where I planted the aspens remained green. Reader, most likely you have connected the dots. This was our septic field! God knew we didn’t need aspens and their extensive root system there! So, he sent deer to overcome my ignorance.
Friend, perhaps you can identify. In your naivete, you rejoiced in something. Then God uprooted or cut it down. You mourned. But, at last you understood God meant such pruning or more for good, and you rejoiced in God’s wise Providence!
Now, more about aspens. Surprisingly, aspen roots sprout to produce a genetically identical replica of the mother aspen tree. An entire clump of aspen trees can be a single tree’s clone. Thus, all leaves in the clump synchronize with each season. Reportedly, an aspen clone in Utah spread over 100 acres. Such interconnected aspen root structures make aspens one of the largest organisms on earth.
Such physical fullness prompts another spiritual analogy: “For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea. In that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples; the Gentiles will rally to him.” (Isaiah 11:9, 10) Jesus, Root of Jesse, you are the “firstborn among many.” (Romans 8:29)  Reduplicating your magnified LIFE, whole people groups reunite in you.
Consequently, Jesus, you declared: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:18-20)
Once more, back to aspens. Individual aspens can live 150 years. Groupings of aspens are some of the oldest living organisms on earth.
And to the aged trusting God, Scripture gives honor/hope:. “The righteous flourish like the…tree…They are planted in the house of the LORD; they flourish in the courts of our God. They still bear fruit in old age; they are ever full of sap and green, to declare that the LORD is upright; he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him.” (Psalm 92: 12-15)
One final word. “Aspen” comes from Old English “aespe,” “shaking tree.” Growing up, I heard this tale:  Embarrassed aspen leaves perpetually shook at the slightest hint of wind because – somehow – most improbably/incredibly – aspen wood composed Jesus’ cross.
Aspen lovers, notwithstanding shady legends, ponder Jesus’ cross. There we find a compelling connection. Holy Spirit, your Wind moves our hearts. Embarrassed by our sin, we shake. Then, most improbably/incredibly, despite crucifixion brutality, we witness the Son’s deep compassion followed by his incandescent resurrection splendor. Many bask in his shine.
Friends, as aspens reveal hidden fall glory, unexpected faith transforms astonished sinners. Formerly tarnished outlaws interiorize/showcase/reflect Redeemer God’s brilliant love/truth stashed in Christ! Jesus tells Son-drenched new creations: “You are the light of the world!” (Matthew 5:13) “The ultimate experience of life is knowing God.” (Billy Graham) Who would have guessed? Hallelujah!
Steve Bostrom is a Minister in the Presbyterian Church in  America and lives in Helena, MT.
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