Celebrating The Wonder Of A Tree

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CELEBRATINGTHE WONDEROF A TREE

AAworld without trees wouldbe a vastly differentplace. Neighborhoods

without trees, fields withoutwoods, and continents withoutforests would mean the end oflife as we know it.

As RBC staff writer DeanOhlman points out in thefollowing pages, in a worldwithout trees the Bible wouldalso be a different book.Beginning in Genesis we findthe story of trees that define thespiritual nature of our existenceand survival.

May the wisdom of thesepages renew our ability to seethe wonder and the significanceof one of God’s great gifts to us.

Martin R. De Haan II

Managing Editor: David Sper Cover Photo: Corbis Stock Market/Sanford AglioloScripture quotations are from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by ThomasNelson, Inc. Used by permission.All rights reserved.© 2002 RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, Michigan Printed in USA

CONTENTS

The “Butterfly” Tree . . . . 2

Trees And Worship . . . . . 4

Let’s Climb Higher . . . . . 9

Trees As A Revelation Of God . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

The Wonder Of Trees . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

The Trees That WereEntrusted To Us . . . . . . 21

Joy To The World . . . . . 26

The Biblical Story Of Four Trees . . . . . . . . 28

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© RBC Ministries. All rights reserved.

THE“BUTTERFLY”TREE

OOn December 10,1997, Julia“Butterfly” Hill

climbed a tree. Her climband subsequent “tree sit”were eventually to receiveworldwide attention andcause a firestorm ofcontroversy. Julia’s feetdidn’t touch the groundagain for 738 days. The tree she climbed was aredwood almost 200 feethigh and nearly 1,000 yearsold. It had been selectedby the “Earth First!”environmental protectiongroup as a token redwoodto represent the threatenedold-growth forests ofCalifornia. The tree wasnamed “Luna” because thegroup found it in the light of the moon while theywere trespassing on theland owned by PacificLumber Company. They

were there to protest thecutting of some of the lastof the remaining redwoods,which are down to threepercent of their originalnumber. The plan was tohave someone sit in the tree to prevent the lumbercompany from cutting itdown. That someone turned out to be Julia Hill.

Julia, whose childhoodnickname was “Butterfly,” isthe daughter of an itinerantpreacher. Julia recalls thather “childhood was very,very hard. I had no ideahow to laugh or have fun.When I finally went toschool, when I was 15, Ihad to learn that it was notso terrible to have a friend,and be light-hearted andjust be happy.” Eventuallyher preacher father burnedout spiritually, and thefamily settled down inArkansas. Julia explains:“After all those years, mydad finally decided that hedoubted the existence of

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God. So he stoppedpreaching.”

A few years later, Juliasuffered serious injury in anautomobile accident. After along and difficult period ofrecuperation, she decided tore-examine her purpose forliving; so she headed west ona journey of self-discoverythat eventually led her to

“Earth First!”—and to Luna.What was supposed to be acouple weeks of protest on a6' x 8' tarp-covered, plywoodplatform 15 stories above the ground turned out to bemore than 2 years! During

that time she became an iconfor environmental protection,giving hundreds of interviewsboth in person and by cellphone. Her tree-sitting wasreported by the major newsmedia all around the world.By the end of her first year, she had even beennominated as one of GoodHousekeeping magazine’smost admired women.

Julia endured rain, snow,90 mph winds, 10˚ F cold,and legal challenges by thelumber company. Theactivist explains whatcompelled her to becomethe world’s best-known treehugger: “When I enteredthe majestic cathedral ofthe redwood forest for thefirst time, my spirit knew it had found what it wassearching for. I dropped to my knees and beganto cry because I was sooverwhelmed by thewisdom, energy, andspirituality housed in this holiest of temples.”

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“When I enteredthe majestic

cathedral of theredwood forest . . . .

I dropped to my knees andbegan to cry.”

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TREES ANDWORSHIP

WWhat is it abouttrees thatcompels people

to worship? Perhaps it’s thatsome trees seem bigger thanlife as the tallest and oldestliving things that occupy our natural landscape. Assuch they symbolize vitality,growth, strength, endurance,fruitfulness, and eveneternal life. Because of themany benefits of trees tomankind, we treasure them.This is especially true in themore arid regions of theworld like northern Africaand the Middle East—whichmake up what has beencalled the Fertile Crescent,the nursery of moderncivilization. Symbols,pictographs, writings, andart objects from the ancientcultures that occupied theseareas are replete with trees, tree forms, and tree references—providing

evidence that those landswere more forested a fewthousand years ago.

The Bible itself containsmore references to treesthan to any other livingthing except people.

The account of Eden’sparadise in the Bible’s firstbook includes reference tothe first specific tree: thetree of life (Gen. 2:9). Andthe last book of the Bible,the Revelation, includesreference again to the tree of life—this time as a majorfeature in the Paradise ofGod (Rev. 22:2,14). Howfitting it is that the tree, this

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The Bible itselfcontains more

references to treesthan to any other

living thingexcept people.

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magnificent gift from the Creator, provides thebookends of the Word ofGod, the writing of whichspans some 1,500 years.

Between thesebookends, we learn much about trees andworship. First, andextremely significant, is that trees were neverworshiped by true childrenof God. Nonetheless, treeswere highly valued, both fortheir beauty and their utility(Gen. 2:9).

Since the Genesisaccount of creation seemsto indicate that the fruit oftrees and other plants werethe food of all the earlypeoples and animals, treeswere obviously the linchpinof life and health for theentire creation—and theystill are. Early in the secondnarrative of the creation(Gen. 2), the Holy Spiritspeaks specifically of twotypes of life occupying theGarden of Eden virtually in

tandem: first man, thentrees. While it is clear thatGod intended for man andtrees to live in harmony and in mutual support, we discover that man’srelationship to the treebecomes troubled veryquickly—trouble that hasaffected all of creation’shistory.

As this story unfolds, wefind some 550 references totrees, or wood, in the Bible.At least 26 different kinds of trees are specificallymentioned. While there are a number of versesspeaking of the beauty oftrees, most deal with thetree’s utility. Specificmention is made of trees as a source of food andhealing substances; fuel for cooking, heating, andaltar sacrifices; shade,landmarks, burial markers,furniture (especially templefurnishings); and lumber forbuildings, ships, carriages,and chariots. Other

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practical wooden things are staves for walking and herding, carrier poles, flagstaffs, buckets, ox yokes, tools, musicalinstruments, and evenscarecrows.

More sinister uses fortrees and wood mentionedin the Bible are spears, war clubs, bows, andarrows. And perhaps mostgruesome is the use of treesas gallows—racks to hangand display the bodies ofcriminals and unfortunatevictims of hatred. This use of the tree is givenspecial mention in the Old Testament book ofDeuteronomy:

You must not leave [aman’s] body on the treeovernight. Be sure to bury him that same day,because anyone who ishung on a tree is underGod’s curse (21:23 NIV).This passage brings us

closer to the issue of treesand worship. Throughout

history, when a cultureturns from God to follow itsown way (as did Adam andEve), it essentially turns itsback on the very Creator ofmankind. But because ofthe inherent need of peopleto worship, we look for asubstitute God. If one turnsaway from the Creator,however, the only things left to worship are the thingsGod has made. Granted,some of those things areawe-inspiring, like the sun, moon, and stars. Thepowerful forces and basicelements of nature not onlycompel us to wonder, theycause us to fear, which is anemotion akin to worship.

Perhaps less compelling,yet something to marvel at,are the other created thingsthat have been found in thepantheon of creature-godsthrough the ages:mountains, rivers, trees,and animals of all sorts.The religions of the Greeks and Romans

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amply demonstrate thatman too has often elevatedhimself to godlike statusand worship—not only forhis appearance, powers,and abilities, but also forhis capacity for murder and virtually unlimitedwickedness. This turningfrom the Creator to natureas the object of worshipwas described by theapostle Paul in his letter to the Roman Christians:

Although they knew God,they did not glorify Himas God, nor werethankful, but becamefutile in their thoughts,and their foolish heartswere darkened. Professingto be wise, they becamefools, and changed theglory of the incorruptibleGod into an image madelike corruptible man—and birds and four-footedanimals and creepingthings. Therefore Godalso gave them up touncleanness, in the lusts

of their hearts, todishonor their bodiesamong themselves, whoexchanged the truth ofGod for the lie, andworshiped and served the creature rather thanthe Creator, who isblessed forever. Amen(Rom. 1:21-25).Perhaps even more

dramatic is the prophetIsaiah’s parody of one whoworships wooden idols:

He cuts down cedars forhimself, and takes thecypress and the oak; he secures it for himselfamong the trees of theforest. He plants a pine,and the rain nourishes it.Then it shall be for a manto burn, for he will takesome of it and warmhimself; yes, he kindles it and bakes bread;indeed he makes a godand worships it; he makesit a carved image, andfalls down to it. He burnshalf of it in the fire; with

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this half he eats meat; he roasts a roast, and issatisfied. He even warmshimself and says, “Ah! I am warm, I have seenthe fire.” And the rest of ithe makes into a god, hiscarved image. He fallsdown before it andworships it, prays to it,and says, “Deliver me, foryou are my god!” They donot know nor understand;for [God] has shut theireyes, so that they cannotsee, and their hearts, so that they cannotunderstand. And no oneconsiders in his heart, nor is there knowledgenor understanding to say,“I have burned half of itin the fire; yes, I havealso baked bread on itscoals; I have roasted meat and eaten it; andshall I make the rest of itan abomination? Shall Ifall down before a blockof wood?” He feeds onashes; a deceived heart

has turned him aside;and he cannot deliver hissoul, nor say, “Is therenot a lie in my righthand?” (Isa. 44:14-20).The Bible, a book that

was written in the midst ofpeoples and cultures thatchose to worship thecreated thing instead of the Creator, stood outamong ancient scriptures as a beacon of light in thedarkness of animism andpaganism. And the childrenof God themselves, whenthey were faithful andpenitent, by their veryactions proclaimed the truth about the one trueGod by destroying thesacred groves, Asherahpoles, and idols of thepagan worshipers.

The Bible speaks of the desecration of God’screation by the designationof high places and groves of trees as sacred placeswhere religious prostitutionwas practiced. Those

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performing these degrading fertility ritesignored the divine source of life in the CreatorHimself and consideredearthly places and objectsmore effective in grantingthem their needs andcatering to their pleasures(Isa. 1:29; Jer. 2:20; 3:6;Ezek. 6:13).

Nothing in the Bible or in the Christian faithcondones the worship oftrees—or any other createdthing. So do we concludethat Julia Hill was actinglike a pagan when shedropped to her knees and worshiped in the“cathedral” of the redwoodforest? Was she detractingfrom the truth about Godwhen she felt “overwhelmedby the wisdom, energy, andspirituality housed in thisholiest of temples”? We’llneed to dig a little deeperinto the Bible to find acomplete and balancedanswer to those questions.

LET’S CLIMBHIGHER

HHow high does theGod of heavenwant us to climb

in our view of the tree andthe forest? It’s clear that weare not to worship trees, buthow much respect does theBible teach us to show fornon-human expressions ofGod’s creation?

Since the birth of the age of science, Westerncivilization has more or lessthought of the elements ofthe material creation aslittle more than resourcesfor human consumption.This attitude has helpedcreate many crises withinthe natural environment.Deforestation and disregardfor the forest ecosystem arejust a couple of the manyproblems created by apurely utilitarian view ofnature.

Certainly God madetrees for our enjoyment and

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our use. The Bible clearlyputs the life of man abovethe life of the creation itself.But have we lost sight ofGod’s affection for field and forest by exalting ourhuman needs? Listen to theheart of the psalmist:

[God] sends the springsinto the valleys; they flowamong the hills. They

give drink to every beastof the field; the wilddonkeys quench theirthirst. By them the birdsof the heavens have theirhome; they sing amongthe branches. He watersthe hills from His upperchambers; the earth issatisfied with the fruit of

Your works. He causesthe grass to grow for thecattle, and vegetation forthe service of man, thathe may bring forth foodfrom the earth, and winethat makes glad the heartof man, oil to make hisface shine, and breadwhich strengthens man’sheart. The trees of theLord are full of sap, thecedars of Lebanon whichHe planted, where thebirds make their nests;the stork has her home in the fir trees. The highhills are for the wildgoats; the cliffs are arefuge for the rockbadgers. . . . O Lord, howmanifold are Your works!In wisdom You havemade them all. The earthis full of Your possessions(Ps. 104:10-18,24).The psalmist went on to

exclaim, “May the glory ofthe Lord endure forever;may the Lord rejoice in Hisworks” (Ps. 104:31).

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Have we lost sightof God’s affectionfor field and forest

by exalting ourhuman needs?

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David told us even moreabout God’s attitude towardHis creation when he wrote:

The Lord is good to all;He has compassion on allHe has made. . . . TheLord is faithful to all Hispromises and lovingtoward all He has made(Ps. 145:9,13 NIV). The book of Psalms ends

with five songs that form agreat musical crescendo ofpraise. We could assumethat only people can givepraise, but the Bible speaksof all nature giving praise tothe Creator of the universe.Psalm 148 exults:

Praise the Lord from the earth, you great seacreatures and all thedepths; fire and hail, snow and clouds; stormywind, fulfilling His word;mountains and all hills;fruitful trees and allcedars; beasts and allcattle; creeping things and flying fowl; kings ofthe earth and all peoples;

princes and all judges ofthe earth; both young menand maidens; old menand children (vv.7-12).From this we understand

that God cares for, rejoicesover, is good to, hascompassion on, and loveswhat He has created. Whenwe enter the woods ormerely rest in the shade of a tree, do we sense God’spleasure? Do we have the same experience ourforefathers had when theywere surrounded by God’smaterial creation? MartinLuther wrote:

In the true nature ofthings, if we rightlyconsider, every green treeis far more glorious thanif it were made of goldand silver. . . . God writesthe gospel, not in theBible alone, but also ontrees, and in the flowersand clouds and stars.Jonathan Edwards is

considered to be America’sfirst true intellectual. While

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Edwards studied the Wordof God with great fervency,he also studied almost asintensely the works of Godin the creation. As ascientist and servant ofGod, Edwards explainedthe meaning of the creation:

When we are delightedwith flowery meadowsand gentle breezes ofwind, we may considerthat we see only theemanations of the sweetbenevolence of JesusChrist. When we beholdthe fragrant rose and lily, we see His love andpurity. So the green treesand fields, and singing ofbirds are the emanationsof His infinite joy andbenignity [kindness,graciousness]. Theeasiness and naturalnessof trees and vines areshadows of His beautyand loveliness. Thecrystal rivers andmurmuring streams are the footsteps of His

favor, grace, and beauty(Observations, p.94).In commenting on Psalm

148:9, the great Englishpreacher Charles HaddonSpurgeon wrote:

Fruit trees and foresttrees, trees deciduous orevergreen, are equallyfull of benevolent design,and alike subserve some purpose of love;therefore, for all and byall, let the great Designerbe praised. There aremany species of cedar,but they all reveal thewisdom of their Maker.When kings fell them,that they may makebeams for their palaces,they do but confess theirobligation to the King oftrees, and to the King ofkings, whose trees theyare. Varieties in thelandscape are producedby the rising and fallingof the soil, and by themany kinds of treeswhich adorn the land.

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Let all, and all alike,glorify their one Lord.When the trees claptheir hands in the wind,or their leaves rustle inthe gentle breath ofZephyr, they do to theirbest ability sing out untothe Lord (The TreasuryOf David).Would it be unthinkable

to imagine these great menof God dropping to theirknees if they had had theprivilege of entering theawe-inspiring redwoodforest? Although they didn’t share the theology of Julia Hill, they mighthave joined her inrecognizing that some of the greatest cathedrals in the world can be foundin the moonlight of an awe-inspiring natural world.

As in ancient times,many today fail todistinguish between the tree and the tree’sCreator. Towering redwoodsare not part of God—that’s

pantheism. The redwoods were not made to be worshiped, but they do help us in ourworship. When we walkinto a forest, we areproperly awed to be

surrounded by all the othercreatures God loves, caresfor, and rejoices in. Andthey in turn praise Himmerely by doing what Hemade them to do. WhereverHis work is being faithfullycarried out, wherever His will is honored andrespected, wherever praiseis flowing forth in honor ofthe Creator, there is indeeda cathedral.

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The redwoods were not made tobe worshiped, butthey do help us in

our worship.

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TREES AS AREVELATION OF GOD

PPerhaps the reasonsome of us fail to

respect the great gifts of the Creator is that wehave not fully grasped thefact that the creation is amajor part of God’sintroduction of Himself.What God says about

Himself through the naturalworld is foundational to abiblical understanding oflife. The Bible itself teaches

us to read “two books” thatreveal truth about God tous. Historically, theologianshave labeled these twobooks as the “specialrevelation” and the “generalrevelation.” The specialrevelation is the Word ofGod speaking to usprimarily in the Bible. Thegeneral revelation is thehandiwork of God speakingto us from the world Hecreated. The psalmist David put it lyrically:

The heavens declare theglory of God; and thefirmament shows Hishandiwork. Day untoday utters speech, andnight unto night revealsknowledge. There is nospeech nor languagewhere their voice is notheard (Ps. 19:1-3).

Later the psalmist wrote: I will meditate on theglorious splendor of Your majesty, and on Your wondrous works (Ps. 145:5).

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What God saysabout Himselfthrough the

natural world is foundational to a biblical

understanding of life.

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Hundreds of years later,the apostle Paul voiced asimilar view:

Since the creation of theworld His invisibleattributes are clearly seen,being understood by thethings that are made, evenHis eternal power andGodhead (Rom. 1:20). Because the idea of truth

about God being revealed in His creation was sosignificant in Scripture,Augustine of Hippo in thethird century after Christcharacterized the tworevelations as the “book ofGod’s Word” and the “bookof God’s Works.” FrancisBacon (called the father ofmodern science) declared it again in the fifteenthcentury. Bacon admonished,“Let no man think ormaintain that a man cansearch too far or be too wellstudied in the book of God’sWord or in the book ofGod’s Works.” Thoroughlycementing the concept of

the two books into thefoundational mindset of the church at that time wasthe Belgic Confession, animportant affirmation of theReformers. This confessionasks by what means canpeople know God. Here isthe answer:

We know Him by twomeans: First, by thecreation, preservation,and government of theuniverse, since thatuniverse is before oureyes like a beautiful bookin which all creatures,great and small, are asletters to make us ponderthe invisible things ofGod: His eternal powerand His divinity . . . .Second, He makesHimself known to usmore openly by His holyand divine Word, asmuch as we need in thislife, for His glory and forthe salvation of His own.Let’s examine Paul’s

observation in Romans 1:20 15

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a little more closely. He toldus there are two things about God that are revealedby the material creation: His eternal power and HisGodhead. “Godhead” isoften translated as “divinity.”A dictionary definition ofsomething divine is “thatwhich is superhuman, godlike, supremely good,magnificent, or compels aperson to worship.” It’ssignificant for a biblicalwriter to say that thecreation itself is wonderfulenough to make us want toworship. But Paul also saidthat we can see in natureGod’s eternal power.

Now add to that whatDavid saw in the creation:the wonder, glory, andmajesty of the Creator’shandiwork. If we take thisimpressive list and apply it to the natural worldaround us, what is it that we might “clearly see” and“understand” from thematerial creation? Here’s

a partial list of what thematerial world reveals:• Light and matter,

which continue to defyhuman definition andunderstanding

• Seemingly endless time(no clearly apparentbeginning or end)

• Seemingly endless space(eternality seen in themicroscope and thetelescope)

• Astronomical abundanceand magnitude (“billions and billions”)

• Wonderful life(inexplicable in itsessence and origin—andapparently existing onearth alone)

• Fearsome death (whichGod has marvelouslylinked to life and itsperpetuation)

• Unfathomable complexity• Profound mystery• Unfailing orderliness (out

of seeming chaos)• Awesome power (far

exceeding our own)16

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• Incredibly intelligentdesign (absolutelybeyond humanreplication)

• Virtually endless variety(biodiversity)

• Amazing adaptability(micro-evolution)

• Overwhelming beauty• Unlimited sensory

stimulation (“candy” forthe five senses)

• A vast chasm betweenpeople made in God’simage and the othercreated things (peoplealone having the capacityfor creative thinking,abstract reasoning, andsymbolic language, andhaving innate moralityand the instinct toworship)Is it any wonder that

through the ages mankindhas found in the naturalworld a reason to worship?Let’s consider a little furtherwhat it is about trees inparticular that moves us togive our Creator praise.

THE WONDEROF TREES

WWithout question,many of the

superlatives in the previous list are seen inthe tree. Their variety seemsendless, with new speciesand sub-species continuallybeing discovered. For those of us who live in thetemperate zones, it seemsunlikely that new treevarieties are still beingfound. In the US there areabout 850 tree species—and there are more species in the AppalachianMountains of the US thanin all of Europe. However,there are more varieties oftrees in a few acres of aMalaysian rainforest thanin the entire United States!In the temperate forests ofNorth America there areabout 400 tree species, but on the island ofMadagascar alone there are more than 2,000.

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Trees are not onlyimpressive in their variety,they are the tallest, largest,and oldest living things onthe planet. A eucalyptustree at Watts River inVictoria, Australia, wasclose to 500 feet before itfell in the late 1800s. Thetallest living tree knowntoday is a coast redwoodnear Ukiah, California.Known as the “MendocinoTree,” it measures 367.5feet. Its diameter is almost11 feet and its age is over1,000 years. A bristleconepine tree in California’sWhite Mountains is thoughtto be the oldest tree at4,600 years. To think that something lives todaythat was alive when theEgyptians were building the pyramids is still hard for us to grasp. No wonderthat the tree is a virtuallyuniversal symbol for longlife.

The tree is alsounmatched in its size.

The largest known treeliving today is the “GeneralSherman” sequoia tree in California’s SequoiaNational Park. It stands275 feet tall, has a diameterof 28 feet, has a volume of 52,500 cubic feet, andweighs an estimated 2.7million pounds. Clearly the General Sherman treecould provide comfortablequarters for several SwissFamily Robinsons!

While these superlativesabout a few rare individualtrees are impressive,perhaps more impressive is the work that all treesaccomplish and the benefits they provide for the remainder of the earth’sbiosphere (the realm inwhich the living things ofthe earth exist).

Understanding howimportant trees are to all of life, we may decide to reject the old adage that a dog is man’s bestfriend. Here’s a list of

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some of the things trees dofor us: • Provide oxygen • Moderate temperature • Enhance rainfall • Collect and absorb dust

and other atmosphericpollutants

• Protect the earth fromrapid climate change

• Produce and protecthealthy soil

• Provide food • Provide shelter and/or

cover for many animalsand birds

• Provide protection forthousands of species ofsun-sensitive plants

• Provide healing products• Provide building

products• Provide paper products • Provide wood • Provide fuel• Provide sensory

stimulation and theexperience of beauty

• Provide living fences thathold back drifting sandand snow

• Reduce light intensityfrom the sun

• Provide privacy• Protect watersheds for

communities• Produce a sense of

rootedness andcommunityOne of the joys of

examining the book of God’s Works is discovering the evidence of the Creator’s unmatchedintelligence and incredibleingenuity. When oneexamines the miracle of the tree and its function, it’s hard to believe there are scientists who deny the existence of a Creator.

The first amazing factabout the tree’s physiologyis its critical part in thecarbon cycle. In essence,the tree takes in sunlight,gases from the air, andwater, and it produceswood, leaves, fruit, andother elements critical for all life on earth. This process is called

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“photosynthesis,” ascientific term from Latin,which means “to puttogether with light.” Andthat’s exactly what happensin trees. They’re puttogether with light!

A greatly simplifieddescription of the process is this: Tree leaves are green because they containa vital substance calledchlorophyll. This chlorophyllreceives sunlight and mixesit with carbon dioxide fromthe atmosphere and waterthat has been drawn upfrom the ground through the roots, trunk, branches,and stems. This mix isturned into the carbohydrateglucose, a simple sugar. Thissugar becomes the food forthe tree, which through itsGod-given mechanismsmanufactures all its criticalstructures—mostly woodand leaves. In the process of doing all this work, theliving factory happens toproduce atmospheric

oxygen as a byproduct.Blessed be the tree!

So as we putter througheach day breathing outcarbon dioxide and floodingthe air with it from ourmotorized vehicles, factories,and stoves, the trees andother green plants are

“breathing” it in and then“exhaling” oxygen. In asense, trees and you and Iare a team that, through giveand take, support each otherin our work—work that cangive praise to our Creator.

Trees also demonstrate 20

In a sense,trees and you

and I are a team that,

through give andtake, support eachother in our work.

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God’s lavish provision. Not only do they build theirown structure and give allliving things oxygen, theyalso produce a surplus ofcarbohydrates in the formof sweet sap, healing leavesand oils, and nourishingfruit, nuts, and seeds. Thewood we use for our homes,our furniture, our fireplaces, our paper, and thousands ofother products is the resultof the work of this amazingliving machine. Accordingto Encarta, these gifts from the tree and otherphotosynthesizingorganisms are so abundant that about 170 billion metric tons ofextra carbohydrates areproduced each year. That’sa total of 30 metric tons for every person on earth!Included in this is theapproximately 100 billion cubic feet of woodharvested annually from the world’s forests.

THE TREES THAT WEREENTRUSTED TO US

WWe might thinkthat with all

this divineabundance, people would never be able tooveruse—indeed abuse—this great gift from theCreator. But that’s not thecase. Many areas of theworld that once wereclothed and carpeted bytrees and forests are nowdenuded and desertified.One reason is that we haveforgotten what has beenentrusted to us.

The principle ofresponsible care of the earthis found first in the words ofthe Old Testament. There wefind that God is the Creatorof the earth (Gen. 1), He isthe owner of the earth (Ps.24:1), and He loves theearth (Ps. 145:9,13). Further,God clearly delegated to us

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the responsibility ofdominion over the earth(Gen. 1:27-28; Ps. 8).However, as theologianFrancis Schaeffer pointedout early in the 1970s, whileGod has put the earth in ourhands, such oversight is stillunder His greater dominionand care.

The logical conclusion ofthese truths from Scripture isthat God, who made, owns,and loves what He created,has in His love permittedpeople to manage and usethe material creation. He isthe Landlord; we are Hiscaretakers. That role ispictured beautifully by theGreek word for “steward”:oikonomeo. This is the sameword from which we get theword economy. Economicswas originally considered tobe the practical operationsof a household in which the steward oversaw theproduction, distribution, and consumption on thelandlord’s estate. If we

recovered that sameunderstanding of thepersonal relationship of thesteward to the landlord, andthe steward’s responsibilityto the landlord, we’d morelikely handle our Landlord’smaterial goods in a muchmore responsible manner.

The Bible is uniqueamong virtually all otherancient scriptures, partlybecause its beginningchapters so clearly state thefoundational purposes formankind (Gen. 1:26–2:15).One can paraphrase themandate like this: Thecreation was very good(Gen. 1:31), and it wasperfectly prepared by God to be given over to people so they could develop all itspotentialities to the glory ofGod and to the benefit of allcreatures in keeping with thewill of God. More specificdirection was given inGenesis 2:15 where Adamwas instructed to “tend” and“keep” the Garden of Eden.

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The extended meaning ofthe two Hebrew words usedhere is extremely rich andtelling: “Tend” (abad) meansto till, work, serve, work for,and/or make self the servantof. “Keep” (shamar) meansto have charge of, guard,save life, protect, preserve,observe, refrain, abstain,and/or celebrate. While thiscommand was given inrelationship to the Garden,

most Christian theologiansemphasize that such controlwas to be extended byAdam and Eve and theirdescendants to the wholeearth. In essence, the

Genesis mandates clearlyspell out our role as keepersof the earth—stewards of thetrue Landlord. One couldsay that we are to be “goodearthkeepers.”

How have we done asearthkeepers? In manyways and places, not toowell. Consider the uniqueisland of Madagascar offthe east coast of southernAfrica as it was describedby G. Tyler Miller, adjunctprofessor of human ecologyat St. Andrews PresbyterianCollege. In his book LivingIn The Environment, Millerwrites the following:

Because of[Madagascar’s]astounding biologicaldiversity, this Texas-sizedisland is considered acrown jewel amongEarth’s ecosystems—a biological superpower. . . . An estimated 160,000species [are] unique tothis island, mostly in its vanishing eastern

23

The Genesismandates clearly

spell out our role askeepers of the

earth—stewards ofthe true Landlord.

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rainforests. Uniquespecies include 80% of its10,000 flowering plants(including 1,000 orchids),66% of the world’sspecies of chameleons,800 butterfly species, half of the island’s birds,and all its reptiles andmammals. Madagascar’splant and animal speciesare also among theworld’s most endangered,mostly because of loss ofhabitat from slash-and-burn agriculture on poorsoils fueled by rapidpopulation growth. Sincehumans arrived about1,500 years ago, 84% of its tropical seasonalforests and over 66% of its rainforests havebeen cut for cropland,fuelwood, and lumber,leaving blood-red gulliesand streams and vasteroded fields andhillsides. Madagascar is now the world’s mosteroded country.

This picture of loss couldbe added to hundreds morethat would graphicallyillustrate how we have failedto care for the natural worldour God has entrusted to us.Even though there are manyinstances in which people

have become aware of thedamage they were doing to forests and havedramatically reversedharmful deforestation, thebroad picture is still one ofserious forest degradationworldwide. It may not besurprising to followers ofChrist that the world ingeneral disregards biblicalmandates and foundationalprinciples, but the truth isthat the church is also

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We have failed tocare for the naturalworld our God hasentrusted to us.

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responsible for the care and protection of God’s good earth.

This often-ignoredresponsibility was firstpopularly noted amongevangelical Christians byFrancis Schaeffer, whowrote a significant bookabout the issue in 1970. Itwas titled Pollution And TheDeath Of Man: A ChristianView Of Ecology. It was achallenge to the church toapply biblical principles tothe world’s environmentalcrises—including the stateof our forests. Here aresome of Schaeffer’s insights:

A truly biblicalChristianity has a real answer to theecological crisis. It offersa balanced and healthyattitude toward nature,arising from the truth ofits creation by God; itoffers the hope here andnow of a substantialhealing in nature ofsome of the results of

the Fall arising from thetruth of redemption inChrist. In each of thealienations arising fromthe Fall, the Christians,individually andcorporately, shouldconsciously in practicebe a healing, redemptivefactor—in the separationof man from God, of man from himself, of man from man, of man from nature, andof nature from nature. AChristian-based scienceand technology shouldconsciously try to seenature substantiallyhealed, while waiting for the future completehealing at Christ’s return.While the worldwide

church is still slow in recovering ourunderstanding of our loststewardship mandate, thereare some effective thingsbeing done by a number ofpeople, organizations, andinstitutions that are taking

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both revelations of God(His Word and His works)more seriously these days.

Realizing our stewardshiprole as children of God, howthen should we live inrelation to the earth’s treesand forests? I don’t think it’sout of order to suggest theseactivities for followers ofGod’s Word:• Learn more about trees

in order to appreciatetheir role in your life.

• Remember the trees’relationship to people asmutual creations of God.

• Remind yourselfregularly of yourresponsibility to be agood earthkeeper.

• As a voter, be more awareof your government’sforest policies.

• As a consumer and/orstockholder, becomeinformed about corporatepractices regarding yournation’s forests.

• Join with the trees inpraise of your Creator.

JOY TO THEWORLD

EEarlier we read thesestartling words fromMartin Luther: “God

writes the gospel, not in theBible alone, but also ontrees, and in the flowersand clouds and stars.” Isthis just a man who got alittle too sentimental on awalk in the woods, or wasLuther drawing a legitimatetheological conclusion?

The Bible itself shows us that Luther was on tosomething. The care andlove of God for His creationis reflected in all that He hasmade. Just as certainly, theenvironment in which welive shows us that humanwrongs have damaged notonly our relationships withone another but ourrelationship to the goodearth entrusted to us.

The same damagedearth, however, also bearswitness to the redeeming

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heart of God. The goodnews that God can restorebroken, dying people is seenin every new dawn and inthe spring that thaws frozenground and brings new lifeto winter’s death.

No, Luther was notmerely being carried awayby the beauty of a warmsummer’s day. He wascommenting on what somehave termed the “lostfundamental” of the biblicalworldview. The earth itself isa witness to our Creator’scare for us. The naturalworld talks to us about our

own wrongs. And the worldaround us also witnesses toa God who cares not only forus but for all that He madeand called good (Gen. 1:31).

The last part of thisfoundational belief—thatGod also cares about theworld He made for us—was obscured by theEnlightenment and thesubsequent IndustrialRevolution. Yet theScriptures themselves sayclearly that Jesus’ death onCalvary’s tree provided notonly for the redemption ofpeople but also for therestoration of creation fromthe grip of sin and from theburden of the curse. This isthe reason for the story ofjoy told in Isaac Watt’shymn “Joy To The World.”The third stanza of thisbeloved Christmas carolsays:No more let sins and

sorrows grow,Nor thorns infest the

ground;27

“God writes thegospel, not in theBible alone, but

also on trees, and inthe flowers and

clouds and stars.”—Martin Luther

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He comes to make Hisblessings flow

Far as the curse is found.We might wonder what

Watts was referring to if we make the mistake ofthinking that the songwriteris referring only to the firstcoming of Jesus Christ. Weknow that sins, sorrows,and thorns are still our lot.But “Joy To The World”encompasses all of earth’shistory from the creation to the consummation. This wonderful song oughtto be sung all year long as acelebration of the joy thatwill be complete only in thefull realization of both thefirst and second comings of Christ.

As we sing this song, let’snot forget the story of thefour trees that explain theneed and potential of sucha restoration.

THE BIBLICALSTORY OF THEFOUR TREES

IIn the original Garden of creation, God gavespecial attention to the

first two trees, the tree oflife and the tree of theknowledge of good and evil.

The third tree was placedin the center of humanhistory by God—a tree that shouldered the CreatorHimself as He bore theeternal weight of our sin.

At the far end of thispresent age is the fourthtree, the tree of life plantedin a future paradise. Therethis tree will be for thehealing of the nations inwhat had been known asparadise lost.

Let’s take a closer look at these four trees:

Adam and Evedisobeyed God by eating ofthe forbidden tree, the treeof the knowledge of goodand evil. They were looking

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for the knowledge of evil byexperience, instead of bytrust in and obedience tothe Creator. Their wrongdecision resulted in theirdeath. Not only that, theconsequence of deathbecame their legacy.

To keep them from livingforever in a fallen spiritualcondition, God barred themfrom access to the paradiseof Eden and specificallyfrom its tree of life.

A further penalty wasthat God cursed the ground,making the earth resist theefforts of man to make hisliving—an act of disciplinethat reminds every one ofus every day that things arenot right. One sign of thecurse was the appearanceof thorns and thistles on the land. Hear the words ofGod’s ominous judgment:

In the sweat of your faceyou shall eat bread tillyou return to the ground,for out of it you weretaken; for dust you are,

and to dust you shallreturn (Gen. 3:19).This series of events

is called the Fall (Gen. 3).Theologically, then, we canconsider the tree of life to bethe symbol of the creation—with its promise of eternallife and fellowship withGod. The tree of theknowledge of good and evil, then, becomes a tree of death and serves as thesymbol of the Fall.

This resulted in an earththat was full of “sins andsorrows.” Yet God, withgreat love for His creation,was grieved by thesecircumstances. So He madea way not only for peoplebut for His entire creationto be reconciled to Him(Acts 3:19-21; Col. 1:20).He sent Jesus, His onlySon, to earth to experiencethe full weight of this sinand sorrow and then to diea sacrificial death on a tree(the cross of Calvary) tomake atonement for Adam

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and Eve’s devastating act of disobedience.

Not only was Jesus’death eternally significantfor sinful humanity, itprovided for the ultimaterestoration of the creationto its original state of peaceand harmony (shalom inHebrew, and salaam inArabic). This truth ispowerfully illustrated by thefact that Jesus was executedon a tree, which we havealready learned was a curse(Gal. 3:13). Further, Hispain was increased by thecurse on the earth—represented by the crown of thorns that was presseddown upon His brow.

But wonder of allwonders, the cross, thesecond tree of death,actually became a promise of life. We got our first hint of that whenJesus promised the penitentthief crucified with Him,“Today you will be with Mein Paradise” (Lk. 23:43).

When Christ was takendown from the cross to beplaced in the tomb, nearlyeveryone expected Hisbody to eventually return todust, just like the bodies ofall people who had comebefore. Scripture tells us,

however, that Jesus’ body did not suffer suchcorruption (Acts 2:31). Godpreserved it and Jesus wasresurrected. This great eventsignaled the defeat of deathand the lifting of the curse.

That part of the storyoccurred in the past. Wewho are alive today remainin a period between the

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The cross,the second

tree of death,actually became

a promise of life.

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initial provision of ourultimate salvation from thecurse of sin and death andthe consummation when wewill actually see the “day ofsalvation.” We look backwith utmost gratitude to thetime when Jesus Christ borethe penalty of our sin, andwe celebrate that act in thetaking of the Lord’s Supper. In this periodbetween the cross and theconsummation, however, all of creation continues tosuffer from the effects of the Fall and the curse. Theapostle Paul described ourcircumstances:

In my opinion whateverwe may have to gothrough now is less thannothing compared withthe magnificent futureGod has planned for us.The whole creation is ontiptoe to see thewonderful sight of the[children] of God cominginto their own. The worldof creation cannot as yet

see reality, not because itchooses to be blind, butbecause in God’s purposeit has been so limited—yet it has been givenhope. And the hope isthat in the end the wholeof created life will berescued from the tyrannyof change and decay, andhave its share in thatmagnificent liberty whichcan only belong to thechildren of God! It isplain to anyone with eyesto see that at the presenttime all created lifegroans in a sort ofuniversal travail. And it is plain, too, that we whohave a foretaste of theSpirit are in a state ofpainful tension, while wewait for that redemptionof our bodies which willmean that at last we haverealized our full [rights as His children]” (Rom.8:18-23 J. B. PHILLIPS).Now we see what

Luther was saying about 31

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the gospel written in thebook of nature. What afantastic future for all of us! See how it is pictured in the Revelation. Inchapter 2 of John’s visionwe hear the promise ofJesus Christ to those whorepent of their sin and thenpersevere in the faith: “Tohim who overcomes I willgive to eat from the tree oflife, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God”(Rev. 2:7). Ah, there it isagain—that wonderful tree, the tree of life. We see it finally as the greatbookend of the Bible:

He showed me a pureriver of water of life, clearas crystal, proceedingfrom the throne of Godand of the Lamb. In themiddle of its street, andon either side of the river,was the tree of life, whichbore twelve fruits, eachtree yielding its fruitevery month. The leavesof the tree were for the

healing of the nations(Rev. 22:1-2).There we have the

biblical story of the four trees: • creation—the tree of life • fall—the tree of death • redemption—the tree of

atonement • restoration—the tree of

life Here in fact is the entire

gospel—the “good news” forall people and for the entirecreation. What a story ofgreat hope it is for you andme, and even for theredwoods. And may God’sHoly Spirit touch the heartsof Julia “Butterfly” Hill andher father with the truth thatwill bring their troubledpilgrimage to a joyful end. If they think the oldredwood forest is awesome,I can’t help but wonderabout their response to the restored one!

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Celebrating The Wonder Of A Tree