TREES THAT PLEASE?

Jesus and the Fig Tree

Time with Jesus - Wednesday, 12 June 2013

Hi all,

Trees I think that I shall never see, A poem lovely as a tree. A tree whose hungry mouth is pressed Against the sweet earth's flowing breast; A tree that looks at God all day, And lifts her leafy arms to pray; A tree that may in summer wear. A nest of robins in her hair; Upon whose bosom snow has lain; Who intimately lives with rain. Poems are made by fools like me, But only God can make a tree. Joyce Kilmer. 1886–1918

One of the most wonderful aspects of our God is His rich, beautiful and creative imagination. If we take a look at all the things around us, this astonishing ability, collides with our minds and leaves us speechless. At best, we shake our heads and say something inane like “Oh!”

Figs on a Rig Tree

Look at a sunrise or a sunset and the sense of the majesty of what He has made is overwhelming. Such moments are best when communicated with another person. It’s as though beauty was meant to be shared. We are able to look up into the sky, on a crystal clear night and see the panoply of stars winking down at us. “Like diamonds in the sky”, we declare, remembering a nursery rhyme from childhood.

The Seven Sisters are
The Pleiades

Here again, what we see is spectacular. But when we can look up into the sky with a dear friend, our perhaps our husband or wife, the experience is enhanced. “Look, there’s the Seven Sisters!” we might say. Then, as the pair of you observe these distant stars and watch the light from each of them, seem to vary in intensity; the beauty is multiplied for both of you. At times like these, we begin to realise that God intended beauty to be seen and shared.

Oak Tree

For me this is one of the greatest gifts God has given us. More than that, it’s another proof for the existence of our Creator. Not that His existence needs to be proved. But it does remind us, machines and our man-made contraptions have no concept of beauty. Wolves, which appear to howl at the moon; are they conscious of what they are doing? Have you ever seen a couple of animals, overwhelmed by the glory of nature all around them? Which animal has ever drawn a picture of anything? We know that some creatures, such as swans, mate for life. In the event of the death of the one, we know the effect this has on the other. Are they sharing a love for each other, or is it nothing more than an instinctive behaviour pattern, sketched into their psyche by the hand of God? After all, what is love? Where do we classify it within the table of elements? What intrinsic value can we place upon it?

Mickey Mouse Chair

Living in Johannesburg, South Africa, we are living in a man-made forest. Back in the 1880’s when Jo’burg was established, there was hardly a tree in sight. The gold-rush brought people by the thousands to the area, all seeking to make their fortune. Some certainly managed to do so. Others came to Jo’burg to support the mining activities. Doctors, lawyers, bankers, shopkeepers, barbers, bricklayers, even prostitutes and all the associated people and trades needed to build a community from scratch. That’s exactly what happened. Then, as people began to settle in the area, streets were laid out and suburbs were slowly established. The Witwatersrand was comparatively treeless. But trees are as much a part of a community as the people who live there. So it was that trees were planted and nurtured. Eventually, Johannesburg became what it is today; the largest forested city in the world.

School Blazer

Few things in nature are more useful and necessary to preserve life than trees. The part they play in providing mankind with oxygen is well known. They also act as a filter to help keep our air breathable.

Pine Tree with Pine Cones

In 1913, Alfred Joyce Kilmer, an American poet, wrote “Trees”, perhaps the world’s best known poetic tribute to trees. The poem is included above. Sadly, Kilmer was killed by a sniper's bullet at the Second Battle of the Marne in 1918 at the age of 31. However, his poem is internationally acclaimed. The conclusion “Only God can make a tree”, for me is a tribute to one of the “pieces of vegetation” that are, perhaps, our “partners” on God’s earth.

Shalom,

Jim & Phyllida Strickland

Only God can Make a Tree

Matt 10:8 Freely you received, Freely give		Time with Jesus – Wednesday, 12 June 2013			Matt 10:8 Freely you received, Freely give
©	These devotionals are the intellectual property of Jim Strickland and copyright protected. You are welcome to copy and distribute them to anyone provided it is for non-commercial Christian purposes					©
	INTRODUCTION		DAILY LIGHT EVENING SCRIPTURES	TREES THAT PLEASE?
If you dig back into your memory, what is your earliest recollection? It’s a tough question because you can’t really remember what your earliest memory was! Mine goes back to about 1946. I was 4years old and Mom took me to town with her, shopping. In Newcastle on Tyne, in those days, there was a large department store called “Fenwick’s” A typical shop something like Garlick’s or John Orr’s, but with a more British flavour. What I remember was the tea room there. They catered for children, in that they had Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck chairs. To this day, children love sitting in seats like those. It was an escape into a fantasy world where adults were usually excluded. I remember the tea room because in 1960, I went to Newcastle on Tyne and those chairs, or ones like them, were still in the tea room. It wasn’t so much a question of recall after 14 years. It was more like bumping into an old friend you don’t really remember, but had never quite forgotten. Of course, life is very much like that. A series of past memories that are somehow “on ice” waiting to be stirred by circumstance and environment. This process is made so much easier if there is a sound association, with an activity today, strongly reminiscent of something in the past. It’s a bit like seeing a youngster wearing the school uniform that you wore. In 2000 I came across my old school blazer. It had been carefully preserved by my mother. When I put my hand in one of the pockets, there was a familiar feel for things that had taken place forty one years previously! The Bible also does that. The Scripture lessons from school are entrenched in my mind and are unforgettable. For example, the creation story and the crucifixion. Imagination plays a large part in this. Somehow, Charlton Heston and Yul Brynner didn’t quite measure up to Moses and Pharaoh. After becoming a Christian and getting into the Word of God, I was interested, to what extent, trees featured? The Bible story begins with the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. It concludes, in Revelation, with trees on both side of the river and a reference to the tree of life. I suppose it might be said that God loves trees? Trees play a central part in Scripture. It follows that I’ve never been satisfied with the reason why Jesus cursed the fig tree. For the Lord of Life to curse a tree seems incongruous. So I’ve scratched around for a number of years in an effort to establish why He did it! It goes against the grain to say, it was so that we could learn about faith. Yes, it does teach us about faith. But there has to be something more. I wonder what? Jim & Phyllida Strickland			24 and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed. 1 Peter 2:24 NASB 22 You were taught not to live the way you used to. You must get rid of your old way of life. That's because it is polluted by longing for things that lead you down the wrong path. 23 You were taught to be made new in your thinking. 24 You were taught to start living a new life. It is created to be truly good and holy, just as God is. Ephesians 4:22-24 NIrV 3 Your old life is dead. Your new life, which is your real life--even though invisible to spectators--,is with Christ in God. He is your life. Colossians 3:3 MSG 4 When we were baptized into his death, we were placed into the tomb with him. As Christ was brought back from death to life by the glorious power of the Father, so we, too, should live a new kind of life. 5 If we've become united with him in a death like his, certainly we will also be united with him when we come back to life as he did. 6 We know that the person we used to be was crucified with him to put an end to sin in our bodies. Because of this we are no longer slaves to sin. 7 The person who has died has been freed from sin. Romans 6:4-7 GW 11 In the same way, consider yourselves to be dead as far as sin is concerned. Now that you believe in Christ Jesus, consider yourselves to be alive as far as God is concerned. 12 So don't let sin rule your body, which is going to die. Don't obey its evil longings. 13 Don't give the parts of your body to serve sin. Don't let them be used to do evil. Instead, give yourselves to God. You have been brought from death to life. Give the parts of your body to him to do what is right. Romans 6:11-13 NIrV	It sounds very peculiar and yet Biblically, Every time things “happen”, somewhere there is a tree. It started in the garden; they shouldn’t eat the fruit. If they ever did so, they’d surely get the boot. I’m not sure why it happened; but they had both been warned, And lost their place in Eden; ‘cause the Word of God was scorned. Abraham gave Isaac on a little heap of wood. Moses used some timber so Marah would taste good. Aaron’s rod that budded was the product of a tree. Precisely how God did it is still a mystery. Deborah served her people from underneath a palm. Jonah had a pity party when God’s wrath was calm! God said He’d judge Nineveh. He gave them forty days. But all of them repented and forsook their evil ways. But Jonah wasn’t happy He thought God let Him down. He would have been far happier if God destroyed that town! We’re told the curse of God is on those hanged upon a tree. And this is stated clearly in Deuteronomy. You’ll find it in verse twenty three of Chapter twenty one. And if you are a murderer, then your last chance has gone. Jesus saw Nathanael beneath the fig tree’s shade. And later when He cursed a tree it instantly obeyed. I don’t quite understand it; It wasn’t lack of fruit. There has to be a reason that people can’t refute. The Lord of life won’t curse a tree because the figs weren’t ripe. There’s something all of us have missed. It wasn’t just His gripe. There has to be a little more we do not understand. My Master doesn’t curse a tree unless it had been planned. Perhaps it represented the tree that brought the fall? That tree would surely be destroyed! Perhaps that was His call? And then there is the special tree on which the Master died. We can’t say where they got it. But this can’t be denied. It did what was intended. They nailed Him to that tree. Please don’t think I am callous if I say thankfully, “Lord what would have happened if everyone You made, Was left to face the consequence of having disobeyed. Eternity in torment. O Lord that would be fair. Your perfect righteous judgement on sinners everywhere.” Jim Strickland Written 12th June 2012