Tree On a Hill

[Feb. 2009]

I was driving home down a very familiar road and something caught my eye that I had never really taken notice of before. There was one lone evergreen pine tree at the top of a hill surrounded by dead trees of various kinds. It was a really pretty sight. My only thought at the time was, “I wish I could stop and take a picture of that.” As I continued to drive, the voice of the Lord was so clear in my spirit. “That tree represents my people. You are to be like that tree.”

Wow.

Do you know why that tree remains green all year round? It is an “evergreen”, but what is different about it from the other kinds of trees, you ask? Every needle on an evergreen pine tree is coated in a very thick water-proof wax. A protective covering.

Jesus was sent to us as a Savior. His purpose on this earth was to shed His blood so that we might have a protective covering. The blood of Jesus is our protective covering.

      Romans 5:9 – “Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him.” (NKJV)

      Ephesians 1:7-8 – “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace that He lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding.” (NIV)

      1 John 1:7 – “But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.” (NKJV)

Another important detail is the shape of the “leaves” of this tree. They aren’t broad flimsy leaves. We see most trees with big leaves that turn pretty colors in the fall and then turn brown and fall off in the winter. Not so with the evergreen pine. It has needles that are long and slender, allowing enough space only for the water it needs to survive, which it stores all year in order to survive in the winter… the hard times… the bleak months.

      John 15:5-8 – “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given to you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.” (NIV)

      John 4:13-14 – (Jesus to the Samaritan woman at the well) “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of living water welling up to eternal life.” (NIV)

One would think that all of these long and skinny needles are fragile or easily broken, but on the contrary, they are tough and very resilient to the elements. An evergreen’s needles are always a vibrant green and stand out among other types of trees, especially in the winter months. They are different. Their needles don’t change from color to color, season to season, eventually losing any color altogether. Green… alive… year round.

We can obviously equate these “other trees” with those in the world. Changing continuously, not sure which “color” to be, their “broad leaves” soaking up whatever comes their way and letting it change their appearance and character. We are to be imitators of Christ. Set apart. Different. Alive in Him.

      Leviticus 20:26 – “You are to be holy to me (my holy ones) because I, the Lord, am holy, and I have set you apart from the nations to be my own.” (NIV)

      I Peter 2:9 – “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light.” (NIV)

God is so awesome. Even His creation cries out in worship to Him. One lone evergreen pine tree on a hill top. God’s promise to us that even in the winter months, when times are the darkest, the coldest, and the loneliest… we will survive… but only by His power and the merciful blood of His son Jesus.

      Psalm 96:11-13 – “Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad; let the sea resound, and all that is in it; let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them. Then all the trees of the forest will sing for joy; they will sing before the Lord, for He comes, He comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples in His truth.” (NIV)

      Psalm 98:7-9 – “Let the sea resound, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it. Let the rivers clap their hands, let the mountains sing together for joy; let them sing before the Lord...” (NIV)