The role of trees in the Bible – Day 2
Be like a tree (continued)
Um(Imi)bhalo weBhayibheli
UJeremiya 17
Yesterday we looked at how we as Christians need to be like trees. We need to be planted by God and be productive, producing good fruit. There are two more characteristics of trees that we can learn from — trees are also pleasing and prosperous.
Trees are pleasing. Look at this passage from Jeremiah: “its leaves are always green”. Not only will this tree planted by the water produce fruit, but its leaves are not going to wither. Why do you suppose there are leaves on a tree? There are several scientific reasons we could argue, but there is one far simpler — there are leaves on a tree for the sake of beauty. They were meant to be beautiful. They were meant to break the barrenness and the ugliness of the landscape.
A tree planted by a stream has a continual source of life and is full of lush green leaves which do not whither. It remains a beautiful green, and it is always attractive.
As Christians, we have our own source of life — the Holy Spirit. There is nothing so beautiful as a Christian who is operating under the direction of the Holy Spirit.
Trees are prosperous. The tree in Jeremiah does not worry during the hot, dry season. It sends out roots toward the river and doesn’t get anxious when the drought comes.
You might know someone who doesn’t seem to let anything faze them; they’re always smiling or singing to themselves. It isn’t that the heat isn’t on; it is that they don’t notice it because they are close enough to the river.
God is our source. If we rely on him, we don’t need to be anxious about anything.
