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				Trees of Righteousness By Rainer Salomaa Trees are a part of our lives. There are few places without them, and they provide us with so much. What can God teach us using trees? he Bible has a fair amount to say about trees. It begins with the two trees in the Garden of Eden and ends with the tree of life, which bears 12 types of fruit and which has leaves for the healing of the nations (Revelation 22:1-2). Christ taught a parable about a fig tree (Matthew 24:32). Instructions were given to Israel about the cutting down of trees during the time of sieges (Deuteronomy 20:19-20). Pagan practices of worshipping in groves are denounced. So are idolatrous customs that use trees (Jeremiah 10:1-5). The Scriptures contain many analogies likening Christians to trees. The Scriptures contain many analogies likening Christians to trees. In the book of Psalms, David wrote, "Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful; but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and in His law he meditates day and night. He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper" (Psalm 1:1-3, emphasis added throughout). The prophet Isaiah wrote, "That they may be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified" (Isaiah 61:3). In another passage, a wife is called a fruitful vine in the very heart of her house and the children are called olive plants (Psalm 128:3). Trees grow If we carry through with this thought, then there has to be growth (represented by tree rings). There also is some pruning and getting rid of dead growth. There also has to be usable fruit. At this season of the year, let us grow and flourish, enduring the pruning, drinking deeply of God's Word and His Holy Spirit in order to bring forth fruits of righteousness. The Passover season can be a wonderful time of growth. Just as trees grow rapidly in the springtime, drawing moisture from the wet soil, so can we, during this season, grow more in the stature and fullness of Christ, as we focus on Him, feasting on the bread of life (John 6:32-58). We are asked to examine ourselves in this growth process as we look to the Son of God and the light of His Word to direct our ways. Our spiritual tree rings reveal the times of growth; some seasons, perhaps, being better than others. Pruning -- it's necessary to produce Pruning is also done at that time of year. Sucker growth is cut off. Fruit trees are trimmed back to make them more productive. Dead branches are cut off and burned or taken away as refuse, paralleling what Christ stated when He said, "I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit" (John 15:1-2). Pruning can make it appear that there is negative growth, but in the long run, a tree that is pruned produces more and better fruit. Fruit is guaranteed if we abide in Christ. On the Passover evening in A.D. 31, He told His followers, "I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples" (John 15:5-8). Just as trees help make this planet so beautiful by providing shade, oxygen, fuel, paper, food, furniture and countless manufactured products, so individual Christians can serve others by producing fruit. God is pruning each of us as individual Christians so that much more fruit will be born in order to better serve all of mankind." Small beginnings In Matthew 13:31-32, Christ said, "The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field, which indeed is the least of all the seeds; but when it is grown it is greater than the herbs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches." It will have begun small, but with the process of growth God's Kingdom will ultimately encompass the entire earth. Even the largest tree in the world, General Sherman in California's Sequoia National Park, which towers more than 274 feet high and is over 100 feet around the base, began with a tiny seed that weighed 1/6,000 of an ounce. At this season of the year, let us grow and flourish, enduring the pruning, drinking deeply of God's Word and His Holy Spirit in order to bring forth fruits of righteousness. Let us stand tall and look up to our Elder Brother and Captain of our Salvation, as trees of righteousness. © 2008-2009 by United Church of God, an International Association All rights reserved.

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