But I am like an olive tree

  flourishing in the house of God;

I trust in God’s unfailing love

  for ever and ever.

I will praise you forever for what you have done;

  in your name I will hope, for your name is good.

I will praise you in the presence of your saints.

Psalms 52:8-9 | NIV84

The life the Lord gives to us is always changing, we are always growing and always learning. This is a good thing, I believe, that life provides hope and the things around us do not overtake nor consume us. Hope is like the sunrise, it is renewed every morning and as the day wanes on, hope grows stronger. Even during the night, hope flickers with each twinkling star shining above.

In winter, the trees go dormant seemingly standing still in its growth, but life all around them continues. While the trees lay dormant, they provide shelter for the forest creatures. It is always so interesting to me that Scripture often likens to those of faith to that of trees. People often think of a tree planted by a stream being constantly nourished by the teaming water, but it is much more than that. Not all trees are planted by streams of water and it is not always the case in a believer’s life that things will run smoothly or even go as one would like for them to. Sometimes trees grow in the desert.

Trees produce food for people and food for the animals and insects. They create oxygen and clean out carbon dioxide. Trees help watershed and erosion… trees are vital to life on earth.

Is it really any wonder that Scripture would liken believers to trees? Not really, when you consider all the good trees do and all that they can bear under the harshness of the world. They grow regardless and they provide life for others. Others. That’s the key word here.

The trees shown in the photo above are arched toward the western sky. They lean in the direction of where the sunlight is most exposed all year long. They long with every atom to nourish themselves by the sun and to absorb as much of it’s light as possible. The sun is superior to the tress because it provides life to everything on Earth. Without the sun, the trees would die.

The believer cannot survive without God, like the trees cannot survive without the sun. The sun provides sunlight to the trees so they can provide life to the living on Earth. God provides life to the believer, so they in return can give that life away to others in hope that those who do not believe will come to God and surrender their heart to Him. God provides life to everything that is in existence, but the life that He provides to the believer is spiritual life for the soul.

Like the trees that lean toward the sun, lean in toward God and go in His direction and follow Him. In the process, God will provide spiritual life to you, and then you can provide hope to those around you. The result of you drinking in every tiny bit of the Lord will produce blessings in the lives of others. It’s not about how much water you can obtain, but rather, how much you give away.

³Then he told them many things in parables, saying: “A farmer went out to sow his seed. ⁴As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. ⁵Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. ⁶But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. ⁷Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. ⁸Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop–a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. ⁹He who has ears, let him hear.” Matthew 13:3-9 | NIV84

The photo shown was taken in early April, right at the beginning of the growing season. If you look closely at the tree, notice how the longer branches have not budded nor developed any new leaves for Spring. The only new growth is the green leaves in the center. It is unusual for a tree to only produce green leaves from the inside out. Evidently, over the winter or late the previous Fall, the full-grown branches had died. When Spring came, there was enough life left within the trunk of the tree to develop a new set of fresh leaves and branches.

In order for this tree’s new green leaves to flourish, it would be imperative to cut away all those dead branches. The cutting away process would be a huge change for the tree and how it looks, but would be necessary for its survival. You see, even though there are branches that appear to be dead, they still drain the tree of nutrients. The dead branches become a burden to the newly developing green leaves because the nutrients are being divided between the half dead and living branches.

The only way to help the new growth become stronger, is to cut away the dead branches, otherwise, the new leaves may not get enough food to properly grow. Not only do the old branches need to be cut away, but the soil will need fresh dirt with some fertilizer mixed in.

The tree and its branches somewhat symbolize the spiritual growth of a believer. Jesus comes along and reveals a wonderful Truth (like the sower above) and that Truth begins to grow inside the believer, like the green leaves inside the tree. However, the existing, dead branches can redirect the new Truth’s life away from the green leaves. Sometimes those old dead branches can symbolize man-made doctrines or meaningless religious ceremonies. Often people trade Truth for tradition and in that process, they risk what little spiritual growth they have within them for dead doctrines. People do this because traditional doctrines sometimes feel better, or they are more comfortable. It’s easier, after all, to have someone teach you the Word, rather than studying on your own. It’s easier to regurgitate what the church’s statement of faith is, rather than fully understanding what you truly believe.

The new growth, that new Truth, can eventually get squashed by the old non-spiritual traditions and even though the tree will still be standing there, it will be covered in dead branches.

Refresh your hearts with the Word of God and heart-felt prayer. Get alone with God, sit and listen. Let the Holy Spirit become your Teacher and let Him reveal His many wonderful life-giving Truths. Allow God to cut away those dead branches so that what He has shown you, may grow stronger with each and every day. My friends, Jesus is returning. Scripture says that we must be ready for the Bridegroom to return. Seek Him while He still may be found.