Sheltering Within the Leaves of the Tree of Life - #8

Photo Credit: Becca Matlick

For a little while now, God has been doing some pruning in my life. He has eliminated some routines that I have heavily relied upon over the last several years. My sleep, my food habits, and my priorities have all been readjusted by my loving gardener. He has the ability to know which of my branches will bear fruit and which ones will not. Because he tends lovingly to my fruitfulness, He eliminates parts of me that are detrimental to, or unnecessary for the health of the tree that I grow within and the roots that I rely upon.

Recently, my church family and I have had to become accustom to Sunday morning gatherings being online (together in Spirit but separate in the body). During our last online "gathering," God revealed something to me.

The message my Pastor shared this passed Sunday was about abiding and remaining in the True Vine of Christ, so that He will abide and remain in us (John 15). He used a dead plant as an image of what life is like without God being the food-source of our lives. The fact that this passage was used as the meat of my Pastor’s message this week does not surprise me, because the Lord has lately been teaching me (in many ways!) to pay close attention to the process and pattern of trees. The first few cyclical lessons He brought me to, (before today), astounded my spirit and confirmed that He had something to teach me. I have been humbled and amazed over the last two weeks (amidst this time He has forced me to slow down), that the God of the entire universe is making it clear to me that He is ready to speak... to ME! I knew I better be ready to listen! This symbolism of trees has been the lens He has chosen to use to help me more deeply understand what it means to abide in Christ. His teaching began as a seed, and has grown into a budding shoot that I have hope will one day turn into a mighty tree.... A tree of life!

Let me show you what God revealed to me today...

As I look at the beautifully impressive tree across the street from where I sit, I notice its fortitude and how massive some of it’s branches are. I think about how heavy each one must be. The frame of the tree has to be incredibly strong and its’ roots must be buried remarkably deep in order to stabilize that kind of weight. As I investigate the prominent tree outside my window even further, I observe that every stocky branch has produced offshoots of smaller branches, which have seemed to replicate the same process until something eventually changes as the branches get more and more delicate.... leaves and seed clusters emerge at the tip of every single branch! I notice that these seeds are only produced from the more fragile branches amidst the leaves that provide shelter and grace for the rest of its body. It’s amazing to me that the largest and mightiest branches don’t produce the fruit... they grow in order to hold up the smaller branches to bear the fruit! As my Pastor read the words of Jesus in John 15, I was encouraged to see my life yet again, through this allegory of a mighty and prosperous tree.

5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. 7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples. 9 As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. 10 If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father’s commands and remain in His love. 11 I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.”

-John 15:5-11

He is the vine and we are the branches. We need His strength to hold us up, (the core and roots of the tree) and we need to rely on the strength of each other to produce fruit... branch upon branch. Sometimes we produce branches that become secure enough to support another substantial branch, in which we may not see the fruit of our labor. Other times, we grow delicate branches of new life that sprout fruit because of the support beneath us. Other times still, we produce an offshoot that is unfruitful. These branches take up space and potential even though they may show signs of life. Jesus tells us in the first part of John 15, that even branches which provide fruit need to be pruned, in order to produce MORE fruit!

“1I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.” -John 15:1-2

I can remember several instances in my life where God has trimmed parts of my life that I thought were good and fruitful. I remember being confused and frustrated. It hurt to go through these moments of pruning! But as His life continued to course through my veins (or branches), I was able to grow another offshoot which in turn resulted in even more fruit than before. I have learned to trust His process, for He knows what He is doing. Because His Son is the vine from which I grow and receive my support, and because He knows the power that comes from just one seed, He lovingly tends to mine and the rest of the tree’s potential. We, being his branches, are attached to Him and the rooted foundation He provides. Without His sacrificial love that is portrayed within His incredibly strong roots and core, we would not be able to produce anything good, (much less, even grow). As we remember this and replicate that sacrificial love to the others He puts on our hearts, we create a fortified webbing of branches that over time produces good fruit and seed!

What a beautiful imagery this is for the season we are in right now! While everyone across the globe is battling this pandemic wave of COVID-19, we are being forced to slow down and take shelter within our homes. Here's a huge part of the revelation God led me to today...

I find it interesting how this terminology “shelter in place” aligns with this tree imagery. As I described the growth process of the tree above, did you catch what part of the tree brings it shelter? It’s leaves! Leaves are such a fascinating development. While they don’t help to produce the needed strength to produce the fruit/seed, they help the tree in a number of other important ways. Leaves are a tree’s shield, source of food, and adornment. As I explain each aspect of the importance of a tree’s leaves, look at it through the lens of us being the branches and the leaves being our homes, where we have been asked to literally “take shelter.”

A tree’s leaves are:

1. Its Shield - They protect the tree from dust, harmful air particles, insects and any other unwanted debris within the tree’s environment. They also help to monitor the temperature among the branches, as the surface area of each leaf absorbs the direct heat of the sun. They also help to reduce the impact of raindrops on the soil below.

2. Its Food Factory - Through the process of photosynthesis, the chlorophyll that is present within each leaf (and gives them their lively green hue), converts the carbon dioxide from the atmosphere into sugar and oxygen. The tree feeds on the sugar, stores some of it, and then releases the oxygen through the leaves’ pores into the atmosphere.

3. Its crown - They beautify the tree as a whole and allow them to stand with beauty and grace. (Leaf anatomy research collected from https://www.ncforestry.org/teachers/parts-of-a-tree/ Read the rest! It’s fascinating!)

As you read through this list of how a leaf assists a tree, were you able to see the resemblances to our homes and what they can do for us? Our homes are our shields, (protection from the intense weight of the world, and the snares of sin that so easy entangle us), our food factories (where we make and eat our food... i.e. our daily bread), and in a sense, our ‘crowns’ (where we take delight in displaying the things we love)! Do you see it? Our homes are our coverings just as leaves are a tree’s covering!

I found the chlorophyll aspect incredibly interesting also. Chlorophyll lives inside of every leaf... it is what gives each leaf its vibrancy and life. Without it, the leaves wither and the tree becomes unhealthy because it cannot produce its food. What does that sound like to you? I personally am reminded of how the Holy Spirit lives and works in us...

“Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you?”

-1 Cor. 3:16

The Holy Spirit dwells within us and is what connects us to Jesus, our foundation (our tree trunk and roots). He is also what produces our food through truth and righteousness. Some of that food we partake of and are strengthened by. Some of that food we store for future need. The rest of it, we give out to the world around us, which breaths life into all those who partake of it. While this life-giving sustenance looks like oxygen being given from these trees’ leaves, it looks like this from the heart of our homes:

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.”

-Gal. 5:22

Abiding in Him and His power provides us with the food we need to grow, to be secured, and to feed the others around us. These Spiritual fruits are available to each one of us when we choose to stay connected to the life source from which they come. This life that courses through our veins and hearts is established first WITHIN OUR HOMES! What a treasure our homes hold... the heart and brilliance of our connection to Jesus!

I believe God wants us to use this time that we are “stuck” at home as a gift. While this may seem like a curse in much of the world’s eyes, I will take this opportunity to take hold of this opportunity to feed myself and my family with the fruits that the Spirit provides for me and my home. I would encourage you to do the same! Home is where I will learn how to regain my strength, remain in His love, find fulfillment of joy, obey His commands and teach my children what is most important in this life... abiding in Him and growing within the Tree of Life to produce good fruit.

"On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations."

-Rev. 22:2

This "sheltering" may very well be what our nation needs to re-establish it's commitment to God and our need for Him. Within the leaves of our tree, we will find healing.