Be the Tree

 1 Oh, the joys of those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or stand around with sinners, or join in with mockers. 2 But they delight in the law of the Lord, meditating on it day and night. 3 They are like trees planted along the riverbank, bearing fruit each season. Their leaves never wither, and they prosper in all they do. Psalm 1:1-3 (NLT)

One day, God planted the seeds of two trees and whispered promises of what they would one day become if they let their roots go deeply into the ground. So they spent days and weeks and months in the dark soil until one day, they felt the earth pushing on their tiny heads. Although it hurt and the pain was almost more than they could bear, eventually they felt the warmth of the golden sun shining down on them. They didn’t have much else to do, so they started talking:

Hey, you with the spiny branches… what fruit are you going to bear?

Well, I actually don’t know. God just told us to stay where He planted us and one day we will know.

But we’ve been here forever. I don’t feel myself growing. And we are out here all day in the boiling sun and at night we have nowhere else to go but to wait out here in the cold. Oh, don’t even get me started on those storms…

Which season has your favourite sunrise?

What are you talking about? Favourite sunrise? Did you not see how that hailstorm almost knocked us out!

I love watching the night skies - those beautifully twinkling stars and silent moon, takes my breath away sometimes…

There’s no point talking to you - star lover… I’m going to see what else is going on in this forest besides all this growing we are supposed to do.

But you can’t just get out of the ground and walk around on your own - what’s going to happen to your roots?

You stay here and “grow”… I’m going to find something else to do!

And with that, the little tree gathered up its impatient bark, pulled itself out of the ground and went prancing along through the forest telling the other creatures what God promised He would become. However, aside from the fact that they were faced with the awkward reality of a semi-grown travelling tree following them around, the animals didn’t care much for trees that only had teeny tiny leaves to offer them.

43 “For a good tree does not bear bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. 44 For every tree is known by its own fruit. For men do not gather figs from thorns, nor do they gather grapes from a bramble bush. 45 A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart^] brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks. Luke 6:43-45 (NKJV)

So after tiring itself out, the runaway tree finally returned to its homely hole and was shocked by what it saw. While it was gone, that sunrise watching, seasoned-synched tree was bursting with life. Its leaves were not only abundant and green but cluster upon cluster of ripe fruit hung from its many branches. There was even a camping group that took shelter beneath its shade and occasionally fruit would even fall on the ground - the tree was so rich with bounty.

The rebel tree couldn’t even understand the depths of despair it felt, thinking that it was forever ruined. A sudden breeze wafted gently across its remaining leaves and it was as if God Himself whispered: “I created you to be a tree. Trees are meant to stay in the ground and grow tall and strong. When the time is right, you would have borne fruit and any creature who needed shade, fruit or even a home would have been drawn to you. You didn’t need to go off in your own strength and try and offer what you never had to give in the first place. Come now; get back into the soil of my word. We will try this growing thing again.”

7 Be patient, then, brothers, until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop and how patient he is for the autumn and spring rains. 8 You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord’s coming is near. James 5:7-8