Every April 22 since 1970, people have been celebrating Earth Day by taking action to protect the environment. One common activity on April 22 is tree planting.
I recently read Matthew Sleeth’s book, Reforesting faith: What trees teach us about the nature of God and His love for us [2019], and it has helped me to understand that trees are more important than I realized. God cares about trees and so should we.
Dr. Sleeth writes, “Other than God and people, the Bible mentions trees more than any other living thing. There is a tree on the first page of Genesis, in the first psalm, on the first page of the New Testament, and on the last page of Revelation. Every significant theological event in the Bible is marked by a tree… Moreover, every major character in the Bible appears in conjunction with a tree.”
Nevertheless, we have lost touch with this aspect of the Bible. Dr. Sleeth explains that in the commentary section of a King James study Bible published more than a century ago, there are 20 pages on trees and plants, with more than 50 illustrations and four full-page pictures of famous trees in the Bible… “In contrast, the 2013 edition of the King James Study Bible by the same publishing house has not a single page of commentary on trees or plants. The index contains only three tree entries.
“In the 1611 King James Version of the Bible, the words ‘tree,’ ‘leaf,’ ‘branch,’ ‘root,’ ‘fruit,’ and ‘seed’ occur 967 times… A quick look at three modern English translations shows that the same six tree-related words appear hundreds of times less frequently.”
Perhaps it is time for us to put trees back into their proper place in our faith.
Dr. Sleeth points out that trees would survive just fine without humans, but humans couldn’t survive without trees. In Genesis chapter 2, after God breathes life into Adam, God places Adam into a garden and plants trees. The connection between the oxygen-manufacturing plants and human’s need for oxygen is made in the first pages of the Bible. It took humans until the late 17th century to figure out that connection for themselves! Is it not logical then that God chose a tree to bring eternal life to all who believe? Read Galatians 3:13-14.
Jesus is compared to a tree. When Jesus says, “I am the vine” in John chapter 15, he is not referring to an ivy plant, but to a grape tree.
We are invited to become branches of his tree. When Paul encourages us to keep in step with the Holy Spirit, he suggests we bear fruit.
“The Bible doesn’t tell us to be like a house or a chariot or a lion. It tells us to be like a fruitful tree. Grow, make the world better, and bear fruit.”
And plant or tend a few trees along the way!
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Nancy Frey serves as pastor at Listowel Mennonite Church.
