I find it amazing how God uses creation to confirm and explain his word, and vice versa. Recently, the passage in Psalm 1 opened a new door of understanding for me.
"And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper." (Psalm 1:3)
The phrase "he shall be like a tree" hit me with a new light. If you know much about trees, you can see many similarities between trees and our lives in the Lord.
According to the verse in Psalm 1, we as Christians are likened to a tree. But if you notice the whole of verse 3, we can see many important factors about this tree.
1) The tree is planted by the rivers of water. Assuming we are the tree, the river of water is what we draw our strength and nutrients from. Of course, a tree can grow and prosper in plain dirt, but life-giving water is what sustains the tree and keeps it alive. A tree that is planted beside water of any sort will be a tree that is healthy, strong, and more beautiful and prosperous than other trees.
Looking at this passage, if we are the trees, then what is the water? For us as Christians, God and is word is the way of our salvation, the source of our strength, what keeps us alive and productive in this life. Let us drink constantly from the depths of God's word, and we will never run dry, never falter in our growth, and never die.
"But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life." (John 4:14)
2) He bringeth forth his fruit in his season. An important aspect to note in this passage is that we as trees drawing our strength from God will bring forth fruit.
"He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth for much fruit; for without me ye can do nothing." (John 15:5)
Something we can also note in this passage is that it says "in his season." This means that we may not always see the fruit of our diligent walking with the Lord. Just as a tree has a time to grow and get stronger in order to produce fruit, so we may have times in our lives where the Lord is simply growing and preparing us to bring forth fruit. Depending on the type of fruit, it may only be a short while before fruit is produced, or it may take many years. What we must remember is that any fruit grown is fruit worth waiting for. The longer the wait, the more precious the fruit, and the more thankful we are to the Lord for his work in our lives. The key is to remain planted beside the Lord, and to be constantly in his word.
3) His leaf does not wither. We can tell very easily when a tree has not been properly cared for. It will be withered, or stunted in its growth, it might bear a little bit of fruit, but many times, it will not taste very good. If we as Christians neglect to draw our strength from God and his word, we too will begin to show signs of neglect. Just as a gardener will not want leave tree growth that is not growing or producing fruit properly in his garden, God will not want to leave us withered and unproductive.
"If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned." (John 15:6)
The gardener will prune away unproductive or wilted growth on the tree in his garden in order to induce proper growth and fruit bearing. Likewise the Lord will prune away what is wilted or unproductive in our lives in order to induce proper growth and fruit in our lives.
4) Whatever he does is prosperous. As was mentioned before, the tree that is consistently abiding and drawing its strength from the Lord is a tree that will bear much fruit.
"Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth for evil fruit." (Matthew 7:17)
For us as Christians it is vital to abide and draw our strength from the Lord. This passage easily points that out. Even more important is how we are to do so. The verse right before this passage clearly states to us what is necessary to attain the likeability to a tree planted by these precious rivers of water (God).
"But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night" (Psalm 1:2)
This man is constantly drawing strength and learning from God's word. This is what makes him like that beautiful tree. When we make God and his word first and foremost in our lives, reading, studying, memorizing, and meditating his words to us, we also will become a flourishing, fruitful tree, ever giving glory to the source of its beauty and strength (the Lord).
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Posts from the Past
Every Wednesday I post something that I have written in the past. It may have been written a long time ago, or a very, very long tim ago! :-D So please forgive any mistakes!
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