Like A Tree

Being like a tree is not just how we’re looked at or as a result of a God fearing life. It’s a statement of how we ought to be. If we need anything in these days of trials, this is what we must be-a tree planted.

“Psalm 1:3 and he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.”

This is the pattern of a true believer. It’s easy to view our relationship with God as just a religion. When we mix in our feelings and stir in traditions and personalize it to suit us, we have created a religion. It’s not up to us to have “designer” Christianity. It must be God’s design. The amount of Christianity we have should never come to the point that we question it. Do we say “God, you can have a certain amount of my heart and a certain amount of my time?” That’s almost blasphemous.  We don’t say “Lord, forgive me of some of my sins and let me keep the rest.” Salvation is not a part time thing. It’s all or nothing. A tree cannot set its own limits. We live up to God’s standards.

This is a good an analogy as can be. A tree is formed completely different from humans. It is stationary. It’s in a vegetative state. We should be in God’s place, not jumping around here and there. We can’t exist like a tree. It has no stomach or lungs. A tree does feed and drink and do all that is required for life. We’re born into a new life. Be what God saved us to be.

When we are saved it is like taking a tomato plant and putting it into the soil. We watch after it. We make sure it has water. The purpose is to receive tomatoes. We enjoy the fruit. We are planted like a sapling. The more we grow, the more our roots spread; we grow upward and enjoy the fruits of it. Many dread coming to church. They haven’t grown up.  We’re not planted by just any water. We’re given every means to be productive and profitable for God and to everyone around us.

Think about what you do day by day. With what we face we need to be like a tree.  A tree will die with water polluted by chemicals. Although surrounded by water, it will die from the inside out.  When planted by dried up rivers with no water nor nutrients we’ll die.  The devil would love to pollute our river, but it does not have to dry up.  What do we want? We ought to want all of the Lord and what he has given us. Be a tree?  Yes. Be a tree. Be planted. God help us to put down roots into the water and grow up to be strong. Go upwards toward God. Grow outward to others. Grow down into God’s will. This is a tree that pleases God. It does what God wants.

Growing is continuous for a tree. It goes up, out, and down. It gives shade or bears fruit or birds build nests in it. It inhales carbon dioxide that we exhale and exhales oxygen for us to inhale. We live because of trees and trees live because of us.  None of us have ever grown as much we can. None of us can say we don’t need a thing. We still have room to grow and grow. We grow no more than the effort we put into it.

The rings on a tree signify its age. How old are we in the Lord? I’m not talking about how long you’ve been saved. As long as a tree is planted correctly and gets rain and sun it will grow until it dies. Do we always grow as a Christian? It can be measured in how much we conform ourselves to God and follow through with real service. I have been saved 36 years, but I could still be a baby in Christ. Are you a baby, a toddler, a teenager or an adult for the Lord? Do you play with church and the Bible as if they are toys? The Bible says when I was a child I spoke as child. As an adult I put away childish things. Spiritual problems today stem from spiritual immaturity. If we’re not growing, we’re not put where we should be. Look at where you’re rooted. Are your branches bearing fruit? Are you reaching up to God and down to his will?

The storm warnings are here. Within the past few weeks we’ve seen strong storms come through. I watched big trees be bent over by the wind, but they were not broken. How rooted and established are you?  Can you stand in the coming storms?  Have little storms knocked you down? It’s up to us individually. We can be as close to God and grow as much as we want. To stand we have to be planted right and rooted right.

Are you like a tree? How old are you?