Friday, July 15, 2011

Trees

Jesus once healed a blind man, but it took Him two tries to get this man to see properly.  The first time the man said he saw men as trees, walking.  The second time he saw clearly.  Now, we know that Jesus didn’t make mistakes, so what exactly was that all about?  There must have been a point to this man saying that he saw men as trees, walking (the other question, of course, is, how did he know what a tree looked like, but, unless he was sighted earlier on in life, I don’t even have a guess), or Jesus wouldn’t have allowed it to happen, and it wouldn’t be in the Bible.
Jesus Himself made a comparison to people as trees another time.  He told His disciples to beware of false prophets, and went on to say that, just as you know what kind of fruit comes from what kind of tree, so, too, you can tell what kind of person you are dealing with by what kind of fruit comes from his or her life.  I’m not saying that as soon as somebody messes up, then you know that they are an evil person; all that really tells you is that the individual in question is human—which, hopefully, was never really in doubt.  As far as that goes, if somebody treats you badly seventy times seven times in one day, but apologizes, and asks your forgiveness, then you should forgive them.  I understand that very few of us (if any) would find that easy to do, but that is the commandment.  By the way, when Jesus told Peter to forgive seventy times seven times, He didn’t mean that the seven-hundred and ninety-first time that someone sins against you, then it’s okay to hold a grudge; I feel very confident that He felt that 790 was just an impossibly high number.
Now, there are lots of kinds of trees mentioned in the Bible.  In Genesis 18:4, Abraham makes reference to a shade tree, which, apparently was a good place to rest.  In Genesis 30:37, Jacob made rods from poplar, hazel, and chestnut trees.  In Exodus 15:25, God showed Moses a tree that could make bitter water taste sweet.  Shortly thereafter, in Exodus 15:27, Moses and the children of Israel came across some palm trees.  In Leviticus 19:23, God told the children of Israel, as they were taking possession of the Promised Land, that they should plant all manner of fruit trees, but then He told them not to eat of those trees for at least three years (I won’t pretend to know what that’s about—maybe fruit trees need time to mature before they bear good fruit?).  In Numbers 24:6, there is a reference to lign aloe trees and cedar trees.  Deuteronomy 6:11 makes reference to olive trees being in the Promised Land.  Psalms 137:2 talks about hanging harps on willow trees.  In Isaiah 6:13, it talks about a teil tree and an oak tree.  Isaiah 44:14 talks about a cypress, an oak, and an ash tree.
The bottom line is that there are lots of kinds of trees, and there are lots of kinds of people.  Romans 12:4-8 talks about the body of Christ, of how we are all members, but we have different offices, and different gifts, among them prophecy, ministry, teaching, exhortation, giving, ruling, and even showing mercy.  1 Corinthians 12:4-31 goes into a lot more detail about the body of Christ, and how the members need each other.  Sometimes we don’t see the value in what someone else brings to the table of Christ, and sometimes we don’t see our own value.  It seems like everybody wants to be the mighty oak tree, and stand strong and resolute, but sometimes there is a need of a weeping willow.  Ecclesiastes 3:4 tells us that there is a time to weep, and Romans 12:15 tells us to weep with those that weep.  Notice, though, that the passage in Ecclesiastes says that there is a time to weep, and that Romans 12:15
 also tells us to rejoice with them that do rejoice; we shouldn’t spend all of our time crying.  We are people, though, and just as our Lord is not a high priest which cannot be touched the feelings of our infirmities, so, too, we should empathize with those around us, but we should never forget that our joy and our hope is in Jesus Christ the Lord, our Savior.