Trees Bearing Guidance
by Ellen Clodfelter
Last weekend, I bought the most beautiful hydrangea tree. I have seen them before in people’s yards, but never in a store and at a price that I can afford. I was so excited and had the perfect spot where I wanted to put it.
As I was pulling the tree out to put it on my cart, I heard a snap and saw that one of the branches had broken off. Bummer, but it wasn’t that big of a deal, there were still many more branches on the tree. As I was putting the tree in the back of my small SUV, I heard snap, snap, snap. Ok, ok, it’s still fine. When I got home, I pulled the tree out of my car and heard a couple more snaps. Ugh, this is starting to get frustrating. I put the tree on the ground, and it immediately fell over. Snap, snap. Finally, I got the tree planted in my yard, but now it is only half as beautiful as it was. I wish I had taken the time to listen to the guidance from the gardener on how to take care of this hydrangea tree. If only I had a helper at my car to help guide the tree gently into my car. I wish that I had asked my husband to help guide the tree out of my car and help me plant it. But no, I went ahead and did it all on my own.
The next day when I was doing my morning devotion, I decided to see if the Bible had anything to say about trees. I was really surprised that trees played such a major role in the Bible. Trees are mentioned 257 times in the Bible and only God and people are mentioned more. Check out how often trees and plants make it into God’s story.
In Genesis 3, a tree played a very important part in separating us from God. Adam and Eve did not follow God’s guidance when He told them, “Do not eat the fruit from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.” After they disobeyed, they sewed leaves together from a fig tree to hide their nakedness.
In Exodus 3, God guided Moses to remove his shoes in front of the burning bush. In Exodus 25, God guided Moses to build an Ark out of acacia wood. In Matthew 2, the Magi gave baby Jesus a gift of frankincense, which is made from the sap of the Boswellia tree. In Luke 19, Zacchaeus climbed a sycamore fig tree. In Luke 22, Jesus guided His disciples into a garden filled with olive trees. In Matthew 17, Jesus spoke of a seed from a mustard tree.
In Mark 11, Jesus was very hungry and cursed a fig tree, because there was no fruit on it. He used this tree to teach his disciples that some people appear to be fruitful (righteous), but don’t show any evidence of fruit (their life is not transformed by a relationship with Christ).
Just like there is only one tree that Jesus cursed and killed, there is only one tree that He was killed on. In Acts, Luke refers to Jesus’ crucifixion as hanging him on a tree. This tree (the cross) became a symbol of God’s love, forgiveness, salvation and reconciliation with God.
This tree became the bridge that we can cross, from the physical and spiritual death that Adam and Eve created to an eternal life with God. If only Adam and Eve had chosen the Tree of Life instead. If only they had followed God’s guidance from the start.
If only we followed God’s guidance in our daily life. What if we sought His guidance through prayer every day? What if we pursued His guidance through reading our Bible every day? What if we got together with other Christians to pray and seek God’s guidance? Just like I should have sought out the guidance from the gardener, what if I were to seek out the spiritual guidance of a strong Christian who has walked this road before?
What kind of tree would He use to describe our life? Would it be like the fig tree that didn’t bear any fruit, or like a beautiful hydrangea tree with many beautiful blossoms? What will you choose today? Will you eat the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil or will you follow the guidance of God and eat from the fruit of the Tree of Life?
