Beautiful country stretches between Seward and Anchorage, Alaska. Majestic snow-capped mountains, blue ice glaciers, deep green forests, and clear pristine lakes. I drove through there a few years ago and have to admit it was difficult keeping my eyes on the road. Everything was absolutely awesome.

We made our way through Bear Creek and Moose Pass, beyond Summit Lake, then along a broad body of water known as Turnagain Arm. (You've gotta love these names.) Mountains jutted up on either side as it flowed to Cook Inlet and the Gulf of Alaska. Dall sheep dotted the hillsides. Eagles soared in the sky.

An hour from Anchorage, we came to Girdwood, a small community along the Alyeska River. We stopped at a combination gas station, convenience store, and restaurant called Great Alaskan Tourist Trap. The name alone beckoned me. As we refueled, I took a stroll to see what I could see. Not far away the river flowed into Turnagain Arm. Mountains were everywhere. But something odd caught my eye.

Across the highway stood a small grove of trees. All by themselves. All clumped together. And all quite dead. The grass around them was green and thriving, but the trees were ghostly. Their bark was all gone. And without leaves, they appeared more like thorns than trees.

These trees were victims of the Great Alaskan Earthquake of 1964, which caused the area to drop 8 feet. Suddenly the trees were no longer drinking the clear water from rain and mountain snow. Their roots had found a new source...salt water from Turnagain Arm. It eventually killed each one of them.

Jesus was once teaching in Bethsaida when a blind man begged to be touched. Rather than heal the man then and there, Jesus did something very strange. He first led him out of the village.

When He had spit on the man's eyes and put His hands on him, Jesus asked, Do you see anything? He looked up and said, "I see people; they look like trees walking around." Once more Jesus put His hands on the man's eyes. Then his eyes were opened, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly. Jesus sent him home, saying, Don't go into the village. (Mark 8:23b-26)

Did you notice? When Jesus asked if he saw anything, the man was still blind! Jesus had not yet healed him, but now he had spiritual sight. And what did he see? People who looked like trees walking around.

A tree receives good nourishment from a good source. The same is true with us. To grow spiritually and stand in this world, we must be tapped into a good source. But those who appear as trees walking around do not have this. They will die, for there is no life without the good source.

Once the man's sight was restored, Jesus told him not to return to the village. Have you figured out why? Because he would find no encouragement there. The people of Bethsaida were trying to live in reliance on their own abilities. They were not rooted in the good source. They had abandoned the word of God, and His love did not flow in them.

To have hope that is certain and faith that is sure, we must spend time in His word and understand what He has taught us. How can we follow someone we don't know? We must be rooted in the good source.

Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God. (Matthew 4:4)