The oldest tree in the world is in the White Mountains of California. It’s a bristlecone pine thought to be 5,000 years old, and it’s affectionately called Methuselah. It seems fitting that it has a biblical name, since trees carry such significance throughout the Bible. There are so many great lessons to be learned from trees, and you may have heard sermons or read devotionals along those lines. I’ve always been enamored with them—even since before I was a Christian—and now I’m fascinated by the many analogies that can be used to compare trees to our Christian lives. One in particular really spoke to me this week.
We moved into a new house just days ago. I was admiring an old oak in the yard and what must be a deep and far-reaching root structure, while feeling a bit sorry for myself for having no roots at all. I’ve moved over thirty times that I can remember and was mourning the separation from friends and family, the loss of keepsakes, and the fact that I’ve never been anywhere long enough to get comfortable with a routine. Then this thought struck me: that tree’s root system has a direct relationship to the reach of its branches—and so does mine! The roots of a tree may extend three to five times as far as its longest branch. My roots in the Kingdom also grow stronger when I reach out, but in a different way.
It may be the stagnation that allows trees to take root in the earth, but Kingdom roots require movement out of our comfort zones. They only grow stronger when we’re actively pursuing God’s will. For me that’s been moving around the world to share the Gospel. For you it might be forgiving someone, befriending a difficult neighbor, or even embracing changes in the church service in order to be more relevant to the world. Branching out is bound to look different in different people, but one thing is for sure: strong Kingdom roots are only established when Christians agree to branch out and follow God’s will. Every time I agree to go where God calls, my earthly roots become shallower, but I gain brothers and sisters in Christ and my relationship with Jesus is strengthened. Every time I branch out by doing something that I can’t do without Jesus, He causes my Kingdom roots to grow a little deeper.
The first Psalm says that those of us who are rooted in the Kingdom are like trees planted beside streams of water, implying that we’ll always have what we need to grow and mature. Interestingly, established trees in nature don’t need much water at all. (Methuselah only gets about a foot of rainfall per year.) Instead they take advantage of water when they get it, but they don’t spend their lives searching for it. Only young trees do that. As Christians, a mark of maturity is when we stop indulging in self-serving behavior and start putting others before ourselves. If comfort is my priority or I spend most of my prayer time asking for things for myself, I should probably examine my life. My roots may be suffering from stunted growth, and a sturdy root system is crucial when it comes to adversity. If you’ve ever tried to remove a mature tree from your yard, you know what I mean. It can be nearly impossible. You can chip away at an established root system all day with little to show for it in the end. Likewise, we have an enemy who daily hacks away at our Kingdom roots. If they’re strong, Satan will have his work cut out for him. If I live in the realization that I’m planted beside the stream of Living Water, then I’m free to branch out when God calls. Only then will my roots be like Methuselah’s, able to sustain drought and hardship and still thrive.
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