As Lovely as a Tree

    The poem by Joyce Kilmer says that no poem is as lovely as a tree.  He closes by saying that only God can make a tree. 

This is perhaps the time of year when we notice God's trees most.  I love the dazzling colors with which God clothes the trees in the autumn!

      The leaves on the red maple trees in our front yard have finally changed from green to their brilliant and vibrant red.  I guess you could say they have on their fall dresses now.  They looked beautiful this morning with the branches swaying and dancing to the music of the wind.  The colors are so vivid that the trees even stood out in the dusk of the evening last night when I arrived home from work.   

       God’s creation is quite beautiful!  The changing of the seasons helps us to see that.  Sometimes we compare the different seasons in nature to seasons we go through in our lives, and aptly so.  Many lessons can be gleaned from those comparisons.  This morning when I looked up at those marvelous trees though, it seemed that they were so joyful in their new attire.  For some reason I thought how joyful we are when we first put on Christ.  We are happy that our old life is gone.   Spiritually, we are a new creature. 

       I also thought about fall being harvest time – and when we give our lives to Christ, the seed of God’s word has brought forth the harvest of a saved soul. Jesus was deeply concerned about this type of harvest.  Matthew tells us in Chapter 9: 36- 38 –

“But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd.  Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.”

     Through these verses we see the great compassion Christ had for the lost souls of the world.  Once we become Christians, we should share that deep and loving concern.  We should be more than willing to bring the weary and scattered to the Good Shepherd.  We should be happy to be a fellow laborer for His harvest.   

When we have put on Christ His spirit dwells within us.  When Christ is seen in a person, male or female, that person just radiates pure joy and beauty!  Do you remember that feeling?  Do you remember the amazing love you felt for God at that time – knowing that His Son died in your stead to set you free from sin?  It is a wonderful feeling to know that God loves you that much. 

How long have you been a Christian?  Do you still feel that same happiness and love?  Are you still radiating the beauty of Christ in you?   Do you still feel that great joy in knowing that He died for you and through your baptism you were able to become a new person?  All your sins were washed away that day!

Well, sometimes we forget.  Life happens.  The world is tough and the memories of that moment fade, so we have to be reminded.  Maybe that is why I noticed those trees in my front yard this morning.  Maybe I needed to be reminded about the joy of being forgiven by a merciful God who loves me.  If your memory has started to fade too – I challenge you to remind yourself!!  It is important.   Christ is the same loving Savior as He was the day you gave your life to Him.  He still loves you that much.  Please don’t let that joy fade away!

It is important to remember because, like those trees, we will go through changes in our lives.  You see, they will lose their brightly colored leaves in just a few days.  They will go through the winter’s cold with nothing but the bare bark of their branches to sustain them.  They may face a few thunderstorms along the way.  Hopefully though, they will stand through all of the bleak winter and whatever storms they may face.  They will live through the cold and enjoy another renewal in the spring.   

When we go through rough times in our lives your Heavenly Father hopes that you will make it through.  He loves you.  He waits and watches to see if you will stand through the storm.  He wants nothing more than to see you succeed!  Christ watches too and He rejoices when you have lived through the cold and become stronger.  Then when the trial is over and you realize your faith has not failed you … your God saw you through – then you experience a renewal too.  God is so good! 

 A Christian's life should be lovely, too.  We should bring as much beauty into the world of people as a tree brings to the beauty of the planet.  Kilmer's poem says only God can make a tree.  That is absolutely true.  It is also true that as we study and obey God's word -- it is only God that changes lives.  It is only through His Son that we become Christians and only through our obedient love does God beautify our souls.

I mentioned earlier that even in the dusk of the evening last night, I could still see those brightly colored leaves.  What about you – does your light still shine even in the night?  I know that I would not be able to see my trees in the total darkness of the night.  But I know that they are there.  The trees do not go away.  They stand through the night and when morning’s light comes – they haven’t moved.  Can people say that about you?  Do those that know you well understand that you will stick by God even in the darkest times?   

To me, trees are always pretty.  They show God’s power through all the seasons.  They are stunning in the green of the summer and glorious in the warm colors of the fall.  Their bare branches stand majestic against the starkness of a gray winter sky and they are breathtaking in their new clothes of green in the springtime. 

Trees are beautiful anytime and all the time because God made them that way.  As Christians can we say the same thing?   Is your life so lovely that others know that only God made you?  Think about it. 

Christ above all things,

Robin