"but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the worries of this life, the lure of wealth, and the desire for other things, so no fruit is produced." Mark 4:19
This tree has fascinated me since the moment I noticed it, it was last year some time, when I was standing near the pedestrian sign and noticed foliage coming out the top, as I examined the sign post carefully I could see a tiny skinny little tree trunk, coming all the way up the sign and out the top. Amazing how the tree has managed to survive. I can see its struggle more clearly this year, as the top of the tree is dying and has no leaves.
The tree is fighting to live, fighting to succeed, fighting to break free, but it is tangled up, caged in, weighed down by the tight restrictions of the sign that encompass it.
Each day I pass by this little tree, a daily witness to its struggle, its slow death. To be honest looking at it makes me sad, I long to cut it free and see it live. Sadly it has become dependent on the very thing that holds it prisoner and will eventually cause its death. The trunk inside the sign is very skinny, and can no longer bear the full weight of the tree, the upper portions sticking out the top of the sign are thicker and if I were able to cut the signpost away, the tree would buckle and fall under its own weight.
We are often like this tree, we humans. We struggle to live, struggle to reach for the sun, struggle to make something of ourselves, and yet so often we are choked by the cares of this world, by our search for money, sex and power. Worries overcome us, loss devastates us, we retreat to the comfort of drugs, alcohol or other forms of bondage to sustain ourselves and we become further enslaved and unable to break free. When we do manage to break free of our own strength we often crumble beneath the weight of life and fall to the ground.
If I compare this tree to the one nearest to it, of the same species, the difference is astounding. The tree compared is healthy and strong, its trunk is thick, and its roots deep, its branches reach up to heaven and dance and sway in the wind. It is vibrant, and it blesses. Birds seek sanctuary in its branches, creatures and humans seek safety from the heat in its shade. It looks as if it can withstand high winds without difficulty, and it will stand so year after year, unlike its counterpart trapped in the clutching grip of the sign.
When I gaze upon these trees I see the souls of those who trust in Christ, who have strong faith contrasted with the souls of those who have no faith and trust. One flourishes despite the storms of life, the other withers and dies.
“This is what the Lord says: “Cursed are those who put their trust in mere humans, who rely on human strength and turn their hearts away from the Lord. They are like stunted shrubs in the desert, with no hope for the future. They will live in the barren wilderness, in an uninhabited salty land. “But blessed are those who trust in the Lord and have made the Lord their hope and confidence. They are like trees planted along a riverbank, with roots that reach deep into the water. Such trees are not bothered by the heat or worried by long months of drought. Their leaves stay green, and they never stop producing fruit.” Jeremiah 17:5-8
Lord, help us to break free of the chains that bind us, to set our eyes upon You, the Author and Finisher of our faith, may our faith in You be stronger than the cares of this world. May we remember always who You are. The struggles of life block our vision; we so easily forget that You are the One who spoke but a word and the storm ceased, You are the One that said “come forth” and a man dead three days got up and walked out of his tomb. You are the One who looked at a mass of hungry people, felt compassion for them, and fed them with but a few fish and a couple loaves of bread. There was not one thing, not one situation, not one adversity that overwhelmed You. You delivered the undeliverable, from bondage to demons, from leprosy, from blindness, from death. May all who are caught up in chains look to You and be set free.