The Tree Parable

I passed a tree today on a river walk. A large scarred area on the trunk above my head showed dead wood under outer layers that still appeared to be living. On the path back to home I took another look. The outer part of the tree, although it looked better, was also dead. It had died more recently, judging from its color and texture. This time I looked up and saw that the tree had been ravaged by storm or disease for some time. It’s core had been attacked and probably the root system. Finally, the rest of the tree, though the outer part looked better,  completely succumbed to the combination of forces over time.

My heart was already burdened with friends in rough shape from lack of contact with others, or disease, or just plain hardship over the last year. Instances of COVID around us are fairly low, but the combination of effects from a variety of issues in recent months is having more obvious effects on people as the pressures continue. Issues among people in some overseas areas, where we have many friends, are often more severe. In all of these cases, it is not one event that seems to cause the hardship. It is a combination of them over time. Like the tree, the core parts of human relationships, when attacked or stopped by a variety of forces over time, tend to unravel a person. Without attention, it can lead to serious issues. Statistics in the US already show a rise in domestic abuse, an increased percentage of mental problems, and a lack of attention to health issues that were more easily addressed in the past. We are especially sensitive to the effects of a loss of meaningful contact between people, which results in a host of issues.

There is no common formula to fix things outside, but there is a solution for the inside. Christ came to give life, and in giving life that He describes, the soul is revived from the heart. It sounds so unattainable, a cliché, or ridiculous, depending on who you talk to. Nevertheless, the Bible states it clearly. He is the Light of life as described in John 1:8-9.

So how does one restore the life of a soul that has been beaten down? Go to Him. The message of the Gospel is good news that works in an unusual way for those who seek God. Outward circumstances may or may not change, but light in the heart restores something more powerful, more completing, and more permanent. Disease and hardship are ultimately because we have a broken world, which was broken by sin, and it so easily destroys in the end. Storms will always come, but how we deal with them and what effects they have depend on one thing: from whom do we get our strength and life?

For those who know Him, however, you know that you can retreat to Him. He is able to guard the heart that cries out and can enable a life to be restored in eternal terms — beyond what we can conceive, and even in a time of hardship. So, consider Him, draw close, deal with any wrongdoing if you need to, and walk in forgiveness. He says this, and He means it: “I will not leave you as orphans” (John 14:18). Then, follow His commands, walk with Him, and love others deliberately. We may look weathered from situations and even die, but we are with Him.