Rooted

 The roots of trees fascinate me.  Their structural form is amazing.  As I walk along the coast and see the pohutukawa trees clinging to the cliffs, often in barren, inhospitable circumstances yet flowering, I wonder how they do it.  These trees are resilient to the salt spray from the waves, the prevailing winds and storms that pound them.  They cling on regardless and from barren rocky terrain pull out water and nutrients to keep growing, keep holding on and incredibly to flourish.

Recently I heard about the Redwoods (sequoia trees) of North Western America. These are the tallest trees, or the skyscrapers of the tree world. They can live for a couple of thousand years. However, their roots are not deep.  How do they survive winds, and storms? Their roots spread horizontally as far out as 30 metres and intertwine with other redwoods, forming a grand underground network from which they receive nutrients, strength and from which they nurture the young redwoods.  As I walked around Te Atatu Peninsular, I came across two pine trees that had done exactly that.  The ground had been washed away exposing the tangled network of roots which had enabled these trees to grow tall and strong.

Jeremiah 17 and Psalm 1 state that a person who trusts in God is like a tree planted by the water, whose roots go deep into the word of God. Therefore they can survive, and flourish regardless of storms, droughts and difficult times. In my mind this is a picture of a person who can both dig down into God’s love and reach up  to receive His grace and power. 

However, the giant redwoods highlight another important dimension, one that we all need in these turbulent times.  They survive by being strongly networked into a community of pines.  They are often found in circular clusters. As much as New Zealanders pride themselves on their tough, rugged, go it alone image, we are in reality, designed for community – especially a community of faith.  Such a community of faith is often referred to as “the body of Christ”; the “house of God”; or the family of God.  Either metaphor suggests the importance of being linked, connected and networked to others. There is power when we realise that we “are in this together”.  We can draw from the strength and encouragement of one another.

Psalm 92:12-15 brings these images together with an incredible promise.

The righteous will flourish like a palm tree,    they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon; planted in the house of the Lord,    they will flourish in the courts of our God.
 They will still bear fruit in old age,    they will stay fresh and green, proclaiming,“The Lord is upright;    he is my Rock, and there is no wickedness in him.”

May I encourage you to grow down into the Word of God, stretch up to receive His grace and power and reach out to the family of God sharing encouragement and support.  In this way, we will stay fresh, flourishing and fruitful.

 

Note: I explore this metaphor of the trees much more in my book “Choosing to Flourish”, an exploration of the book of Ruth, asking the question how can you move from famine to fruitfulness.  This is available for purchase either directly from me or on Amazon.com.