A group of volunteers planted some new trees last spring in the neighborhood where I live. As a resident, I received the gift of two trees in front of my house. My responsibility now is to make sure the trees are well-watered so that they can flourish and grow. The huge old oak trees in my backyard do just fine with rainwater alone. But the new young trees need some extra watering until they grow deep roots and can survive on their own.

The Bible's message is that God created us in love and has saved us through faith in Jesus, by grace alone. As people saved by grace, we are invited to live the good life that God has designed for us. We live this way not to earn our salvation, but to show our gratitude to God, to grow in faith, and to flourish in the good life God wants for us. God has given us salvation as a free gift, and we gratefully aim to follow God's law because it's the best way to live. It's what we were designed for.

Psalm 1 says that living this good life is like being a tree planted by streams of water. That tree will yield fruit and will not wither, because the tree is living the way it is meant to live, nourished by the water of life given by its creator. So it is with people. When we are planted and nourished by God's way of love, we will flourish.