By Jack Wyman

We just finished the backyard. In a short time, we’ll need to attend to the front.

It’s a perennial tag-team.

That’s because the two oaks in back are not the same kind as the three oaks in the front. They shed their leaves at different times.

Still, I love the trees. I’ve always loved trees. Ours have grown in the time we’ve lived in the same house for over twenty years. They’ve been silent witnesses to the changes in our lives during the time we’ve been in Texas.

Our oaks have endured various storms at various seasons. While our roof has been replaced twice, those oaks have remained tall and strong. Sometimes I pat them gently, to remind myself of their regal fortitude. It makes me feel good that I have something in my yard that can withstand the tests of time and change.

Something permanent.

I know they won’t last forever. Trees die of disease. They are often torn up by the howling gales of violent weather. Sometimes their branches die and get blown down. I do expect our trees to outlast me. I don’t know when I’ll look upon them for the last time. I doubt they’ll look much different than they do today.

Unchanging and unchangeable.

I hope God will give us trees in his new earth. Beautiful trees. Big trees. With long spreading branches and lovely leaves that will never need trimming.

When I visited the giant redwoods in California I felt as though I was walking through a beautiful cathedral—solemn, sacred, ethereal. I’ll never forget the breathtaking sense of awe that came over me as I gazed upon these primeval sculptures of nature.

How infinitesimal I felt; how mysteriously majestic the omnipotence of God in those quiet moments. It was as if I was touching the whole history of the world in an instant. Even I was speechless.

Alfred Joyce Kilmer was killed by German snipers during World War One. He was 32. He left us an iconic poem. Its words are often dismissed as mere sentimentality and overly romantic, but its simple beauty is as enduring as its subject.

“I think I shall never see a poem as lovely as a tree. . . A tree that looks at God all day, and lifts her leafy arms to pray. . . Poems are made by fools like me, but only God can make a tree.”

In his letter to the Ephesians, the Apostle Paul offered a profound prayer on behalf of the Christian believers in that challenging, opulent, and idol-ridden city. He prayed that God would empower those Christians “with inner strength through his Spirit. Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him” (Ephesians 3:16-17).

Then Paul added this hope and prayer for his fellow followers of Jesus:

“Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong” (verse 17).

The King James Version renders this, “being rooted and grounded in love.”

Just as a tree is best measured when it’s down, the roots that hold it strong in place are invisible until the tree is pulled up. The spiritual roots of faith and trust; of patience, and perseverance; of courage and confidence may not always be obvious, but they will hold you and me firm in the strongest storm of adversity. Come what may.

Why?

Our roots are anchored and grounded in the love of God. No tempest, no storm of life, no perplexity, no difficulty, no tragedy in our lives—no crisis or pain or loss—can ever uproot us from the love of God.

Paul tells us that nothing can ever separate us from the love of Christ. In spite of whatever we face or experience, “overwhelming victory” is ours through our precious Savior and Lord. “From him no power of evil can sever,” as the songwriter says. No root can ever be torn up by Satan. No salvation is ever lost and no soul is ever abandoned. Ever.

“Neither death nor life; neither angels nor demons; neither our fears of today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell itself can separate us from the love of God. No power in the sky above or in the earth below” can ever come between us and the matchless love of the God who made us, died for us, and saved us for all eternity” (Romans 8: 35-39).

The prophet Jeremiah tells us that those who foolishly trust in mere mortal power to deliver them will turn away from a dependence upon God. They will become like “stunted shrubs in the desert, with no hope for the future. They will live in a barren wilderness” (Jeremiah 17: 5-6).

How bitterly disappointed will be those who think that elections, politics, and candidates will rescue them, save them, and set the world right.  “No deity will save us,” cries the humanist, “we must save ourselves!” Yet every Christian must remember that apart from God and his love and power, you and I can do nothing. We can never save ourselves.

The prophet offers a reassuring contrast:

Those who “trust in the Lord, who have made the Lord their hope and confidence, will be like trees planted by a river, whose roots will reach deep into the water. Those trees will not be worried by either heat or drought” (Jeremiah 17: 7-8).

Are you “rooted and grounded”?

Let your roots grow deep into the love and goodness of God. Every day. Trust him, look to him, depend on him.

Let the fiercest gale blow. You shall not be moved. 

To order Jack Wyman’s book, “Everything Else: Stories of Life, Faith and Our World”, go to amazon.com, Christian Book Distributors or barnesandnoble.com. It is also available on Kindle and eBooks.

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